Stanton
by my own patronus
Summary: "Stanton" tells the story of Blaine's life at Stanton High School before he was forced to transfer to Dalton Academy. He has three great friends, too many bullies, and one big secret at home. Based off of CP Coulter's amazing fic, Dalton - you do not need to have read it first though, this is a prequel! Blaine belongs to Ryan Murphy/FOX.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

There were really only two other people in this school that Blaine could really consider to be his friends: Erin, a pretty sophomore who ran track, and Micah, a quiet, bookish freshman.

You wouldn't ordinarily expect such a _Breakfast Club_-esque grouping in a high school that was so focused on cliques, as Stanton High School was. The jock, the brain, and the theatre geek. But they didn't really have much choice. They had each made, in the eyes of their classmates, a huge mistake.

Blaine's was made only a few months earlier, during the summer before his freshman year of high school.

* * *

><p>Blaine was with two boys, his best friends since grade school. They were playing basketball in a park near their school. When they heard the opening notes of the ice cream truck's song ringing out, they sprinted right to it, forgetting their basketball game immediately and rummaging in their pockets for loose coins and crumpled dollar bills.<p>

The three boys sat on the curb as they licked their brightly colored popsicles and chatted.

"Hey," said Jeremy, a tall and athletic boy with sandy hair, "check out Jessica Willis. The summer sure has been good to her."

Andy, a gawky blond boy, gave a low whistle as the two watched a brown haired girl who had recently hit puberty run across the park to her friends.

"Man, she is hot," Andy said.

The two boys now looked at the third as yet silent one expectantly. Blaine, apparently, was lost in thought and staring in the opposite direction.

"Yo, Blaine?" Jeremy asked as he waved a hand in front of Blaine's eyes.

The boy's eyes immediately snapped back to his companions. "What? Oh…I guess she's okay," Blaine offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh really?" Andy asked amused. "Well then, what's your type?"

Blaine gazed off again, seemingly at nothing at all. He was actually admiring a taller, fair boy who was laughing with a group of friends.

"Well," he said, smiling to himself, "tall, but not too much taller than me. And strong…and confident. Light brown hair, clean cut, not too long."

Jeremy and Andy were confused. "Taller than you, man?" Andy asked while Jeremy said, "And short hair? Really?"

But Blaine continued as if he hadn't heard them. "And he'd be really funny, too. He'd be perfect."

As soon as the words escaped Blaine's lips, he knew he made a mistake. The atmosphere surrounding the three boys changed immediately. Blaine sputtered, trying to cover the slip, but both friends had heard him loud and clear.

"He?" Jeremy jumped up and practically shouted, now backing away from his friend. "What do you mean, 'he?' You don't like dudes, do you?"

"I-uh, I mean…" Blaine faltered.

"Ew, man, we've had sleepovers!" Andy shouted at him, also standing up.

A few people looked over to see where the commotion was coming from, but thankfully none listened in.

"Look," Blaine said desperately, "it's not that big a deal…right?"

"So you're saying that you don't want to do that guy you've been staring at all day?" Andy asked as he followed Blaine's gaze. Blaine stuttered, trying to answer, but his two friends backed away from him as he tried to approach and explain. Andy looked scared and confused, but Jeremy looked downright angry. Seriously pissed off. "Get away from me," he spat out, "fag!"

Blaine's eyes widened with shock and hurt as he sank back to the curb and watched his two best friends walk away from him forever.

None of the boys noticed that Jessica Willis was standing nearby, listening intently. She loved gossip. And just wait until all her friends heard this – the juiciest piece of gossip this summer. Blaine Anderson, the cute, curly haired dork, was gay.

* * *

><p>Within a week, Blaine's Facebook friend count had already dropped. Those that stayed his "friends" seemed to enjoy flooding his wall and inbox with derogatory messages and threats. It wasn't until Blaine saw one, however, that he finally broke down.<p>

He'd seen the words written by others and heard them from his mouth. But he didn't believe it until he saw it in print.

**Jeremy Schmidt - Blaine Anderson **stay away from me u fucking fag

It was ten at night. Blaine sat in the dark, staring dumfounded at the words on his laptop screen. The tears leaked out of his eyes before he could stop them. A sob overtook him, and soon Blaine was weeping openly and uncontrollably.

The door opened without him noticing, and a figure walked in. The boy looked strikingly like his older brother who was now crying on his bed. Calmly, the new arrival looked for the source of the anguish and his eyes alighted on the laptop. As he read the words on the screen, his face clouded over.

"Is it true?" Shane asked his older brother as he put an arm around him comfortingly.

Blaine simply hiccoughed and nodded.

Shane embraced his older brother, sending messages of love and support through the hug. Then he leaned toward the computer and clicked a few times. A message appeared on the screen asking, "Are you sure you want to delete your account?" Shane looked to Blaine who nodded and smiled slightly before reaching out and clicking yes.

He turned to his brother who was now calming down.

"You know I don't care, right?" Shane asked.

Blaine smiled for real this time. "Thanks."

The brothers were silent for a moment.

"Uh…what about – what about dad?" Shane carefully asked.

Blaine dropped his head to his hand as the two boys winced at the memory of the other night.

"_But I want to dance, dad! I'm good at it!" Shane shouted to his father._

"_No son of mine is going to go prancing around a stage like some freaking pansy gay boy! I won't allow it!" Bart shouted back._

"_It's just dance, dad," Shane pleaded._

"_Just go and watch him, dad. He's really good," Blaine said from where he had been reading at the other side of the table._

_Shane shot him a look of thanks. Blaine smiled, an idea coming to him, and continued speaking. "Just come to his dance class showcase and watch him and," here Blaine caught his brother's eye and grinned, "his _girlfriend _dance."_

_Shane shot him a what-are-you-doing look, Blaine shook his head and responded with an I'll-tell-you-later look. Bart perked up at Blaine's words. "Girlfriend?"_

"_Yeah, this girl in Shane's class that he's always talking about. Maggie. They've been spending a lot of time together lately…" Blaine explained to his father._

_Maggie was nothing near to a girlfriend for Shane, and never would be, but Shane started inviting her over and spending time with her while his father was watching. This seemed to convince Bart that dancing wasn't going to turn his youngest son gay, and he unwillingly let his continue "prancing around like a pansy."_

"I – I just won't tell him," Blaine said to his brother.

* * *

><p>Now, four months later, Blaine was finding it difficult to believe that his father hadn't found out. In middle school, Blaine had been reasonably popular. He did plays, sang with the chorus, and played in band. He'd had plenty of friends who would invite him to do things with them. He barely went out at all anymore.<p>

Blaine came home from his first day of high school almost in tears. Thankfully both of his parents worked and Shane had managed to calm him down by the time that they came home. Shane was only marginally aware of the situation that his brother faced however. Blaine was trying to protect him. But even at the middle school, Shane heard things. He started getting some second-hand teasing. Calls of "there goes the fag's brother!" would occasionally follow him down the hall. One boy gleefully told him about how his older brother had beaten up Shane's older brother and then stuffed him into the equipment closet. Shane didn't tell Blaine about any of this; he knew that Blaine would feel guilty for doing this to him when it wasn't even his fault.

Blaine had never really been bullied before in his life, unless you counted the time in the third grade when a boy made fun of him for still wearing Velcro sneakers. But that had only lasted a day. This new torment was something different and terrifying. It came in all forms, from all different directions. It started with the school year, and didn't look like it would ever end.

On the first day of school, a group of five boys from the football team confronted him, one of them Jeremy. They had called him names and chased him down the hall before shoving him up against a wall. "Okay listen. We better not hear anything about you looking at anyone funny. Because if we do, you're going to regret choosing to be the fag that you are." Then the boy has slugged Blaine, and the group left, snickering.

In the locker room before and after P.E. Blaine faced catcalls and body slams into lockers as boys accused him of peeking.

* * *

><p>In the middle of October, Blaine found himself timidly walking toward the locker room after school. It was a Friday, and he needed to collect his clothes to take home and wash over the weekend. The halls appeared empty, as most people were either gone or else at sports practice. Nonetheless, Blaine walked a little faster than usual toward the locker room door. He almost made it, too.<p>

A hand reached out from behind and grabbed his shoulder. "Where the hell do you think you're going, fag?" a deep voice growled in his ear.

Blaine froze, terrified.

"Not trying to catch a peek, are you, you little perv?" the boy asked as he slammed Blaine into the door with all the force he could muster. Blaine fell to the ground and let out the smallest whimper.

"Are you scared?" the voice growled again. Blaine just looked up at his attacker with fear in his eyes and pain on his face. "You should be." The boy then turned around and shouted, "Hey, guys! I've got the freshman fag!" Blaine heard whoops from the main hallway in front of the gym as a few other jocks joined the first.

"What should we do with him?" one of them asked, as if Blaine wasn't even there. He punctuated his question with a kick to Blaine's side. The boy tried to keep quiet, but couldn't hold in the groan that escaped his lips. The jocks all laughed at their victim.

"Just toss him in the equipment closet," another suggested. "If he's lucky, the janitor isn't finished for the day…if not, well, I guess he'll have a long weekend."

Blaine realized what they were suggesting and tried to kick out, fight back as the grabbed him and pulled him up. "I think he knows what's going to happen to him," one of them said, laughing.

Blaine was freaking out now. He'd been locked in the equipment locker a few times before, but someone had always left him out after an hour at most. Now he was looking at an entire weekend shut up in the small dark space with no food or water? How would he explain his absence to his parents? Blaine fought back harder, but his captors were too strong for him. The last thing he heard was their laughter as they slammed the door shut and jammed a broom through the handles. They had unceremoniously tossed Blaine into the closet head first, and he'd collided with a rack of basketballs. He felt a lump rising on the back of his head and quite possibly a trickle of blood dripping down his face.

"Hey! Help! Someone! Please! Is anyone there?" Blaine shouted as he banged on the closet door. But he knew it was hopeless. No one was going to save him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Erin walked slowly back to the locker room after track practice. She was exhausted after a hard workout and was praying for a quiet day. She wasn't bullied as badly as the other out kids at Stanton, mainly because she was a girl. It wasn't that the guys were worried about hitting a girl or anything, it was just that they not so secretly thought that girl-on-girl action was pretty hot. She could outrun most of the guys who did try to get her. Erin did get it from the girls. But girls weren't as violent as boys, the fought mostly with words. Erin could handle words.

The petite redhead walked to her locker at the back of the locker room, away from most of the other girls who were changing after field hockey, soccer, or track practice. As she walked down the aisles, however, something caught her ear.

Erin wasn't one for gossip. She thought it was cheap, catty, and most of all, unreliable. But this was certainly to be believed.

"…and Jordan was just telling me how he and a couple of other guys beat up that freshman boy and tossed him into the equipment closet," a girl said to her friend.

"But…it's Friday. He won't get out until…"

"Monday morning, bright and early," the first girl finished for her friend gleefully.

Erin panicked. She was pretty sure she knew exactly what the girls were referring to. The jocks had two favorite victims, the only out boys in the school, both freshmen. One was quiet and liked to read a lot. He mostly stayed out of their way. But the other had once been friends with some of the popular kids until he came out. Or was forced out. They all took that as a personal insult and had a particularly vindictive vendetta against him. And the jocks' favorite form of torture was beating kids up and locking them in the equipment closet for a while. But this was actually dangerous. Locking that boy up for the whole weekend…

Erin had heard about that boy over the summer, from locker room gossip during summer training for track. He'd accidentally let slip to his friends that he was interested in a boy, and suddenly the whole school knew. He'd received threats online until he'd deleted his Facebook page, which the girls seemed to think of as a sort of trophy, or win.

Because Erin was so good at avoiding the boys, and ignored the girls, she was mostly ignored for being gay. But the two freshmen boys…they didn't know that their attempts at rebellion against the bullies were exactly what fueled their anger.

Erin made up her mind as she changed to join in the rebellion. To help the poor boy stuck in the equipment closet. To stop being the random lesbian that sometimes got teased but was mostly just shunned. She wanted to change the minds of her classmates.

When Erin was sure that the gym area was empty, she left the locker room. She walked quickly across the hall and opened the gym door.

* * *

><p>Blaine was sitting awkwardly on the floor of the equipment closet. His tears had long since dried and now he was simply scared and worried. When he heard the faint noise of the gym door opening, he almost thought it was a hallucination. Then he heard footfalls against the gym floor. "Hey! Help! Open the door!" he called, standing up and banging on the door again.<p>

A voice called, "Are you okay?"

Blaine paused. "Yeah, I guess."

He heard his savior struggling with the broom handle for a few moments before, "Okay, I've got the broom out!"

He pushed against the doors as the person on the other side pulled. Slowly it budged, and then came open. Blaine found himself facing a pretty girl with red hair.

"Thanks," he said fervently, as he brushed himself off. Erin noticed that the boy was shaking slightly. "I thought I was going to be stuck there for the whole weekend or something," he added.

"How long were you in there?" the girl asked, her tone soft and comforting.

Blaine looked down at his watch. "Just over two hours," he said simply.

"I'm Erin," she said, holding out her hand to him.

A flash of recognition came into Blaine's eyes. "You're—"

"The lesbian runner?" she finished for him, laughing kindly. "Yep that's me."

He smiled at her. "I'm Blaine," he said softly.

Erin looked over at the boy who was now walking with her toward the doors. He was still shaking slightly. "You sure you're okay?"

Blaine shook his head, closed his eyes, and breathed deeply. "Yeah, just a little…shaken up."

The two were silent for a minute. "Do you need a ride home or anything?" Erin asked. "My mom should be here to pick me up in a few minutes."

The two were now outside the front of the school. "No," Blaine said, walking toward the bike rack, "I have my…bike." He groaned upon finding his bike, still locked, with the tires slashed. This was the last straw, the finishing touch to a perfectly hellish day. Blaine just broke down and began crying again, only faintly self-conscious.

"We can put the bike in the back of my mom's car. It's big enough," Erin said kindly as she put her arm around the younger boy. His eyes met hers, and he nodded. "Thanks," he finally muttered, wiping his eyes. Then suddenly his eyes flashed. "... My backpack... You didn't see it in there did you?"

"No, sorry," Erin said, "maybe it's in the locker room?"

"No," Blaine said darkly. "I think I know exactly where it is."

He ran off around the side of the school to where the dumpsters stood. He climbed up the steps next to the nearest one and looked in. Sure enough, there was his backpack, lying on top of his books and school work, all loose in the dumpster. Blaine groaned a little as Erin came up next to him.

"Is that..." she began.

"Yep," Blaine said, "all my stuff. Guess my day isn't going to get any better." At that he leaned over the side of the dumpster and began fishing his papers out. Erin sighed, took a deep breath, and leaned over to help him too. They messily stuffed papers, books and pens into the open backpack. After a few minutes' work, when they had collected everything that was within easy reach, Blaine sighed and shook his head. "I guess I don't really need the other stuff that badly," he said.

Erin's phone rang and she picked it up. "Hello? Oh, hi mom. Is it okay if we take a friend and his bike home? He has a flat tire... Yeah we'll be around front in just a minute. Love ya."

Erin turned to Blaine. "Come on my mom's outside". She took his hand and patted his back with her other he held his backpack up against his chest, squeezing it as if protecting himself.

* * *

><p>Erin's eyes widened as they drove up to Blaine's house. It was huge...just massive. "wow," she said under her breath. Blaine looked slightly embarrassed as he got out of the car and leaned down toward Erin.<p>

"Thanks...for everything. I really mean it"

"Hey," Erin replied, "what are friends for?"

Blaine looked truly happy for the first time since Erin rescued him from the closet as he pulled his bike out of the trunk. "Thanks for the ride," he called to Erin's mom while waving at both of them. He then jogged his bike up to the garage on the side of his house.

Shane was waiting for Blaine inside.

"Woah, what the hell happened to you?" he said, aghast, after taking one good look at Blaine, the bruises, the slashed bike tires, and the messy and slightly smelly backpack.

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked, not making eye contact with his brother.

"Seriously man? You're going to try to pull that on me? You're practically three hours late, driven home by some random chick in a station wagon and you look like crap. You better be glad that mom and dad are working late again, or else they would ream you out too."

Blaine just sighed resignedly. "Nothing's wrong…it's just been a long day," he said, still not making eye contact.

Before Shane could respond, Blaine's stomach gave a loud grumble. He had barely eaten anything since breakfast; he had been tripped in the lunchroom, and only had time and money for something from the vending machines.

"You haven't eaten anything yet?" Shane scolded, now acting as the older brother because he could sense that Blaine really couldn't do it tonight. "Come on, I was just putting mini pizzas in the oven."

Blaine smiled at his brother. "That sounds great. I'm starving. Let me just – clean up first."

Blaine walked to his bedroom and set his backpack gingerly on the floor. He sighed, and sank down next to it, unpacking the messy contents. Blaine sorted his things into piles depending on their state of cleanliness and whether or not he really needed them, then repacked them into his bag. It must have taken longer than he thought because when he turned around to go back down to the kitchen, he saw Shane standing in the doorway staring at what he was doing and holding a plate of food in his hand.

"What…happened to your stuff?" Shane asked as he indicated the now overflowing trash bin.

"Nothing," Blaine said almost angrily as he snatched the plate of food from his brother's hands and began eating ravenously.

"Sure…" Shane responded, rolling his eyes. "Look, Blaine, you can't pretend that there's nothing wrong any more. Maybe mom and dad aren't around enough to see it, but I am! And anyway, I hear stuff at school…" he trailed off and looked to his brother, asking for elaboration with his eyes.

"I dropped my bag, okay? And everything fell out, and now it's a mess, and…" Blaine's voice trailed off at the look his brother was giving him. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd actually believe that," he said, laughing slightly.

Blaine paused for a moment, chewing the pizza. "You know how I…came out this summer?"

Shane snorted. "'Came out?' More like you were pulled out kicking and screaming!"

"Not exactly. I mean, it sucked the way it happened, and everyone's reaction to it, but…it felt good. To get it off my chest. To not have to hide anymore." Blaine paused again. "Well, the kids at school…they don't really like 'different.' And they really don't like that I'm gay. So there have been some incidents. The push, they kick, that sort of thing. It usually ends in the equipment closet for a period or so. I don't know what really happened today to make it so much worse, but they cornered me after school and…" Blaine trailed off.

"They beat you up?" Shane asked.

Blaine nodded. "Then they locked me in the equipment locker again, but this time, there was no one left at school to let me out. Until this girl, Erin, she's out too, but she doesn't get bullied as badly, she came by and let me out. But the jocks had already trashed my bag and slashed my tires. So she helped me and her mom gave me a ride home."

Silence. Shane didn't know what to say. His brother was always so strong, always there for him, and now that Blaine was in trouble, he had absolutely no idea how to help. Blaine looked away again and continued eating the pizza. "But it's okay, I mean, it's not so bad…"

"Not so bad?" Shane repeated. "What are you talking about? These guys are terrorizing you, and you – you just let them!"

"What? I don't just –"

"Why don't you tell your teachers? Or the principal maybe?" Shane said, ignoring his brother.

Blaine just laughed harshly at this, sending Shane into an even angrier frenzy. "You think the teachers don't know what's going on?" Blaine asked. "Of course they do. One of the guys dragged me past my geometry teacher the other day, and he just stood there watching. These jocks run the school, and no one cares enough to stop them. They might occasionally get someone saying 'Oh, don't do that,' but they turn around and do it anyway. And _no one_ cares."

Shane stared at his brother, at a loss for words. "Wow…I'd heard rumors and stuff, you know? But I never – I never knew it was this bad."

Blaine sighed. "It's not. Usually. And this isn't even your problem."

"I just wish you'd told me. What about mom and dad?"

"What about them? They haven't noticed the bruises and nonexistent social life yet, and anyway what would I say? 'Hey dad, the kids at school are beating me up because I'm gay'? He'd probably go down there and tell them to step it up and really knock the gay out of me."

"No, he wouldn't. You're his son. His _favorite _son. I'm sure he'd still love you even if you told him," Shane replied.

"Shane, he didn't want you to dance because it might make people think you were gay. How'd you think he'd react if he found out that I'm out and proud and _everyone _knows?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Dad probably wouldn't be too…happy." Shane got up and headed toward the door. "Sorry, but I've got to go…Maggie's picking me up and we're hanging out. But I could cancel if you need me? I don't really think you should be alone."

"No," Blaine said, pushing his brother toward the door. "Go, I'm fine. _Really_."

* * *

><p>"Blaine? Shane? We're home!" Marlene Anderson called as she and her husband walked through the door late Friday night.<p>

Blaine stood at the top of the stairs. "Hi mom, dad. Shane's out with Maggie."

"Oh, that's good," Marlene responded absentmindedly. "Sorry we're so late, work was busy as usual."

"It's okay, we managed to find some food for dinner." Blaine now slowly began to descent the stairs, hoping that the dim lights of the front hall would hide any bruises or cuts on his face. "Hey – dad? Can we talk?"

"Sure, Blaine, just a minute," Bart Anderson responded. He walked into his study and spent a few minutes arranging files on top of his desk before calling his eldest son in. "What did you need to talk about?"

"Well, it's…it's about my bike…" Blaine began.

"Blaine," Bart warned. "That is a very expensive bike. I hope you weren't careless with it."

"No! I just – I mean, it wasn't a big deal or anything, just some boys at school. They – _we_ – were messing around, playing jokes on each other. And it got a little out of hand. And they slashed my bike tires," Blaine mumbled this last part quickly.

"They WHAT?" Bart Anderson exploded. "Who are these boys? Give me their names!"

"No! Dad, it was just a joke, nothing serious." Blaine felt disgusted as he sat in his father's office and defended his tormentors, but what other choice did he have? He couldn't tell his father the truth.

Bart breathed in deeply, and then let the breath out in a long sigh. "You shouldn't be so careless, Blaine," he said.

Blaine looked up at his father hopefully. These words were much softer.

"I'm not going to buy you new tires," Bart began. Blaine's face fell.

"But," Bart continued, "I will let you work to replace them."

"How?" Blaine asked.

"You are to come to my office after school and on the weekends for two weeks. You'll work for me, whatever needs doing. That should pay it off."

"But dad! I'm in the play! I have rehearsal after school! And homework!"

"Do you want new bike tires or not?"

Blaine sighed.

"Anyway, I've been meaning to talk to you about this singing and acting business. We don't want to give people the wrong impression, do we? Just like with Shane's dancing?"

"Dad, I've got to do the play. I made a commitment to them, and you told me to always honor my commitments. Anyway, I like it. It's fun. And I'm not going to quit because I'm worried about what people may or may not think of me." _They all already know the truth_, Blaine finished in his head.

Bart held up a hand. "All right, Blaine. You can keep doing this play. I like that you are trying to be honorable, just like your old man. We'll figure something out for you to work on the weekends. But I don't want you doing any more plays after this, you hear me?"

Blaine nodded his head and stood up. "Thanks, dad."

Bart simply waved his hand. He had already turned to his computer to begin working, the matter with his son forgotten.


	3. Chapter 3

Monday at school, Blaine was a total wreck. He knew that the jocks would find out that he'd escaped. And they probably expected him to, too. But it wouldn't make them any less angry to be beaten.

He'd made sure to leave the house at the very last minute. Unfortunately, this was still earlier than usual because he had to walk since his bike tires hadn't been replaced.

He slowly made his way into the school yard, constantly checking all around him for any sign of movement. Shockingly, there was no one near who looked menacing in any way. As the bell sounded, Blaine rushed to his first period class, still taking care to look out for anyone who might have it in for him. But the day was quiet. Eerily so. Only a few derogatory comments were thrown at him in the locker room before P.E. He was able to carry his fully loaded lunch tray to the steps at the back of the school where he always ate alone without anyone throwing the tray at him or tripping him. No names were called at him in the halls. No shoves into the walls. Nothing unusual, except that it was the least eventful day of Blaine's short high school career.

* * *

><p>After school, Blaine entered the auditorium for rehearsal for the school musical. Most of the rest of the cast was already on stage warming up and chatting. As Blaine approached them, however, they all grew silent.<p>

"What?" Blaine asked the group after catching them staring at him silently.

"Did something happen on Friday?" one of the boys asked him.

"Cause I heard some football players talking about you and they seemed…pretty pissed," a girl piped up.

"Yeah…what do you mean 'Pretty pissed'?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know exactly, but I'd watch my back if I were you," the girl said.

Blaine fell silent at this. After a few minutes, everyone else seemed to fall back into their earlier conversations and almost forgot Blaine.

* * *

><p>After rehearsal, Blaine walked outside and almost collided with Erin.<p>

"Oh, hey," he greeted her.

Erin, however, wasted no time with greetings. She simply went straight to the point. "You look sick."

"Huh?"

"You don't look well. You probably have a fever. I don't think you should go to school tomorrow."

"What are you talking about? I feel fine."

"No, you don't. You're ill." And with that, Erin turned on her heel and walked away. Blaine stared after her, confused, then shrugged his shoulders and began walking home.

* * *

><p>When he was about halfway home, Blaine made the connection between the looks and warnings at rehearsal and Erin's insistence that he was ill. They all knew something he didn't about what the jocks were planning in revenge. That's why today had been so…quiet. The calm before the storm.<p>

Blaine was in a full panic by the time he got home. He raced upstairs to find Shane, who had had much more experience faking sick to get out of something.

"Woah, man, where's the fire?" Shane asked as Blaine burst into his room.

"I need your help," Blaine said, breathless as he had just run the entire second half of the way home.

"What's up?"

"Can you help me skip tomorrow?"

"Is this about what happened on Friday?"

Blaine closed his eyes and nodded.

"Sure," said the younger brother.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Shane ran down the stairs to the kitchen where his parents sat reading the paper. "Mom! Dad! Come quickly! Blaine's really hot and he's not getting out of bed and he keeps saying stuff, but I don't really know what…I think he's really sick!"<p>

Marlene stood up immediately. "Bart, get the thermometer and bring up some tea or something for the poor boy to drink," she instructed as she followed her younger son up the stairs.

In Blaine's bedroom, the boy laid on his side in the bed groaning. He was under an immense pile of blankets, but still claimed to be freezing cold. His forehead was burning. Marlene ran over to her son's side. "Oh, Blaine, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, mom," Blaine replied, coughing weakly.

From where he stood in the doorway, Shane laughed silently and gave his brother a thumbs up for the performance.

Bart came through the door a moment later, holding a steaming mug and a thermometer. Now was the tricky part of the plan. Shane had to distract his parents enough to allow Blaine to stick the thermometer in the mug for a sufficient amount of time. Without being caught.

Right after Marlene placed the thermometer in Blaine's mouth, Shane said, "Hey mom, dad?" The two turned to the boy standing at the door. That was when Blaine made his move. As Shane asked, "Since Blaine is sick and everything, I'm running a little late this morning. Do you think I could maybe have a ride to school?" Blaine stirred the thermometer in the cup of tea that had been placed on his bedside table. He popped it back in his mouth a moment before his mother turned back to him.

"I guess. But just this once," Bart told Shane before joining Marlene's study of the thermometer. The small screen read 102.6˚.

"All right. Go back to sleep, honey. You're not going to school today. I'll bring some things up for you in case you start feeling better later," Marlene said before she and Bart exited the room.

As soon as they left, Shane rushed over to Blaine who took off some of the covers. "Thanks!" the older brother said fervently.

"Any time. Just remember: you owe me!" Shane replied with a grin on his face before following his parents out of the room.

Blaine waited until his parents and Shane left the house, and then jumped out of bed. He had the entire day to himself, and regardless of how worried his parents might seem, he knew they weren't going to call to check up on him. He still felt guilty about skipping school, and wondered if it made any difference since the jocks would probably just do their thing to him tomorrow anyway.

* * *

><p>Around noon, the home phone started ringing. Blaine checked the caller ID before answering, but didn't recognize the number.<p>

"Hello?"

"Blaine? This is Erin. I looked up your number in the school directory."

"Oh. Hey." Blaine was still confused as to why she was calling.

"Sorry about yesterday and how…cryptic I was being. I'd heard some stuff in the locker room about how some of the guys had told the girls…stuff."

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked, starting to get worried.

"Well, they were really just saying that the guys were pissed that you got out. Apparently they weren't actually going to leave you in there for the whole weekend, they just wanted to scare you. But you weren't there when they came back. I don't know exactly what they were planning on doing, but I think not seeing you probably helps. Just try to stay under the radar, okay?"

"So it makes no difference that I skipped today because they'll just do whatever they're planning to do tomorrow?" Blaine asked, now starting to get angry.

"Well, if it's something really bad, they can't do it during school hours. So after your rehearsal or whatever just go straight home as fast as possible," Erin said. "Listen, I gotta go, but I just wanted to…explain."

Blaine sighed. "Yeah. Thanks."

"Bye, Blaine."

"Bye."

* * *

><p>Shane came home from school to find Blaine sitting on the living room couch, in his pajamas, watching TV.<p>

"How was your day?" Blaine asked, grinning at his brother.

"Terrible," Shane replied.

"Lots of homework?" Blaine asked, beginning to laugh.

"You won't be laughing tomorrow when you have to catch up on everything you missed today."

"Bright little ray of sunshine, aren't you? What happened?"

The younger brother opened his mouth, for once thought better of it, closed it, opened it again, and said, "Nothing."

Blaine was torn between amusement at the process his brother just went through and worry at both his brother's bad mood and, most importantly, the fact that Shane actually thought before he spoke.

He got up, turned off the TV, and followed his younger brother who was now ascending the stairs and heading toward his bedroom.

"Come on, Shane, I know something's wrong," Blaine said as he pursued his brother.

"It's nothing," Shane said as he turned to face Blaine in his doorway.

"No, it's not. You're too emotional. I can read it all over your face."

"I just – don't want to be angry at you. And I don't want you getting angry either," Shane told a now perplexed Blaine.

"Did I do something?"

"It's more _about _you…and what you didn't do…"

"Me…" Blaine repeated uneasily. He was beginning to suspect what this might be about. "Shane…does this have anything to do with…everything that's happened to me at Stanton?" Blaine asked.

Shane was quiet for a while, but finally gave into his brother's glares. "Yes, but please don't try to do anything about this. You'll only make it worse!"

Blaine started to get angry. "What happened?" he growled.

"Well, Jay Parsons is in my biology class, and his brother Jordan is on the Stanton football team. And he said that his brother was talking about how much of a pussy my fag brother was. And I told him to shut up, and he was like, 'Oh, maybe it runs in the family. I bet your parents are pussies too just like their loser kids.' But I just turned away from him! I didn't want to fight him or anything. But when I turned my back, he…well, he kinda jumped on me, so I had to get him back. So we were both sent to the principal's office, and she called mom at work. So now mom and dad will be pissed at me and doting on you. As usual."

Blaine sat down in his brother's desk chair feeling a rush of emotions about to overtake him. On the one hand, he was proud of his brother for trying to turn away. He was embarrassed and angry at himself for bringing Shane into it. And he was a little annoyed at Shane for letting that boy goad him like that. But mostly he just felt immensely guilty. "Wow. I am so sorry," he said. "I really didn't want you to get dragged into all this."

"You didn't drag me into this," Shane replied softly. "You're my brother. I'm always going to be on your side."

"Thanks," said Blaine. "I'll try to soften mom and dad up for you, okay?"

Shane smiled. "Now get out of my room. I actually do have a ton of homework. Plus a 500 word essay on proper conduct at school."

"Ouch," said Blaine as he got up and walked to the door. "But at least that's better than a detention, right?"

* * *

><p>Blaine waited on the couch in the living room so as to get his parents feeling sympathetic before they even had time to think about Shane.<p>

A little after six, Blaine heard the beep of the security system telling him that the door had opened. His parents entered, chatting in muted toned about work.

"Hi!" Blaine chirped from the living room. His parents perked up, surprised that their eldest son was now so chipper.

"Oh honey," Marlene said, swooping down on Blaine and kissing the top of his head. "Did you have a good day?"

"Yeah mom. Listen, Shane came home really upset. He thinks you're going to be really mad at him."

"Well, he did get into a fight at school. Did your brother tell you that part?" Marlene's voice hardened ever so slightly.

"Yeah, he did. He also told me that the other boy was provoking him. And he walked away. The other boy jumped on him when his back was turned. He didn't actually _do _anything," Blaine explained. "And I know Shane, mom. He was definitely telling the truth. Plus, he's not really a fighter. What if he got injured and couldn't dance?" Blaine and Marlene grinned at the last part. "I know he's going to be in trouble, but…go easy on him, okay?"

Marlene smiled and patted Blaine on the shoulder. "What did I ever do to get a son as perfect and caring as you?" she asked him. "I'm going to talk to Shane now. He did get in a fight, but if everything you're telling me is true, maybe we can forgo any punishment. For now. But this better not happen again."

Blaine grinned as his mother walked up the stairs. After a few minutes, he followed her up and went into his bedroom.

* * *

><p>Just before the Anderson family sat down for dinner, Marlene walked into Blaine's room.<p>

"How are you feeling, honey?" she asked, sitting at the edge of his bed and lightly patting his leg.

"Loads better. It was probably just one of those 24 hour bugs," Blaine said.

"Are you feeling hungry? Do you want to come down and join us for dinner, or do you want me to bring a tray up to you?"

"I'll join you. I think I can go to school tomorrow, I mean, I don't want to get far behind or anything."

Marlene pursed her lips, clearly conflicted. She didn't want to send her son back to school after the fever that he'd had this morning, but she didn't want him getting behind in his classes, either. "We'll see in the morning, okay?"

* * *

><p>When Marlene took Blaine's temperature the next morning, he had miraculously recovered and had a totally normal temperature. "All right, you can go to school, but if you start feeling even a little sick just call me and I'll come pick you up."<p>

Marlene and Bart dropped Blaine off at Stanton on their way to work. Usually, they insisted that their sons bike unless it was raining heavily, but since Blaine had been so sick the day before, they agreed to drive him. "And give me a call when you need a ride after school, okay?" Marlene shouted at her son's back as he walked towards the front doors. He raised a hand in a half wave to indicate that he'd heard her.

The first bell rang just as Blaine entered the school building. Perfect timing. Blaine ran up a flight of stairs, down a hallway, and into his English classroom. He slid into his desk at the back of the classroom only moments before the tardy bell rang.

* * *

><p>After class, three large boys were waiting outside the door. <em>Oh no<em>, Blaine thought, _They're waiting for me. _He recognized one as the first jock who had first cornered him on Friday.

"Hey frosh," one of them taunted, as the boys formed a circle around Blaine, "you seem to be pretty good at getting out of places. Let's see if your luck lasts…" One of them lunged forward, and Blaine swerved out of the way, only to find himself inches from another one of the boys. By now a crowd of onlookers had surrounded the group, cheering the jocks on. The boy that Blaine had run into pulled back his fist and brought it smashing into the side of Blaine's face. The force of the punch would have knocked the younger boy to the ground if he hadn't fallen into the third jock. He shoved Blaine forward and he fell to the ground.

"Hey!" Mr. Strickland, Blaine's English teacher shouted. He'd heard the commotion in the hall and come out from the classroom. After quickly assessing the situation, he continued speaking. "Fighting is not allowed on school grounds. If I _see _any of this again, I'll have to report you to the office. Do you hear me? I don't want to see any more fights! Now everyone clear off. Get back to class!"

The three jocks sent Blaine looks of pure contempt before slowly turning away and walking off down the hallways. From his position on the ground, Blaine used one arm to cover his bleeding nose and the other to push himself off of the ground.

"Uh, Mr. Strickland? Can I have a pass for the nurse?" Blaine asked.

Mr. Strickland looked annoyed at the request and Blaine saw something flash in his eyes, but went into the classroom and wrote a note for Blaine.

Blaine took the slip of paper and jogged down the hall toward the nurse's office.

* * *

><p>Once the bleeding subsided, Blaine was instructed to wash off his face and hold an ice pack over the growing lump for a few minutes before he was allowed to go back to class. Since second period was P.E. and he'd already missed more than half of the period, Blaine decided that it made no sense to change and join his class. Plus, his head still hurt from the punch and he was pretty sure he'd have a black eye.<p>

Instead of entering the locker rooms when he entered the gym hallway, Blaine turned the opposite way and walked outside the school. He sat down on a bench under a tree and pulled out a beaten up copy (of course, its recent trip to the dumpster didn't really help the condition) of _To Kill A Mockingbird _that he was supposed to read for English class.

After ten minutes, Blaine realized that he hadn't actually registered a single word of the text. He sighed, closed the book, and focused all his energy on what was bothering him: Mr. Strickland's attitude toward him after the fight. By the way that the jocks were all ganged up around Blaine, it must have been obvious that he hadn't instigated the fight, so why was the English teacher annoyed with Blaine?

Then Blaine remembered the flash in Mr. Strickland's eye when Blaine had spoken directly to him: it was a look of disgust. He knew exactly what was going on, why the boys were bullying Blaine, and he fully supported their efforts to beat it out of Blaine. Unfortunately, his position as a teacher rendered him unable to voice his opinion, but he had been clear in his message to the boys: _I don't want to _see_ any more fights. _He was perfectly happy with it happening as long as he didn't have to be there to act responsibly.

Blaine swore under his breath. Maybe the other teachers were passive about the fights, but so far Blaine had never seen one encourage the beatings, especially with such subtlety.

* * *

><p>Erin found Blaine just before last period.<p>

"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing his arm and pulling him to the side of the hallway. "I heard what happened. Ouch, that looks really bad."

Blaine smiled faintly at Erin. She really was his only friend here. "Yeah, it just looks a lot worse than it actually is. I was actually wondering if you'd ever noticed…" Blaine was unsure how to phrase his question. It sounded too melodramatic to say, "Have you noticed that my English teacher is a homophobe who is probably going to fail me for being gay?"

"Noticed what?" Erin asked when Blaine remained silent.

"You know what? Never mind," Blaine said hastily. "I've actually got to get to class. I can't afford being late to class, seeing as how I miss about half of them," Blaine said darkly before rushing off toward his class and leaving a perplexed and worried Erin behind him.

Blaine could not get over the disgust in his teacher's eyes for the rest of the day. Thankfully, it passed without further incidents, and he found himself calling his mother to ask for a ride home from rehearsal.

* * *

><p>As soon as Marlene Anderson pulled into the parking lot, she gasped. "What happened?"<p>

"Oh - !" Blaine had completely forgotten about the bruise. "It's nothing. I just kinda got hit…during rehearsal. We have some pretty trick choreography with flailing hands and stuff…"

"Good," his mother responded. "I thought for a moment there that you had gotten into a fight. First Shane, now you. Well, at least one of my sons has a level head on his shoulders."

Blaine leaned guiltily back into the seat, refusing to look at his mother. He didn't like it that everyone was placing blame on Shane when everything that had happened over the past few months was entirely his own fault!

* * *

><p>Blaine and Marlene walked through the foyer of the Anderson house. As soon as the door closed, Bart's voice echoed down the hall. "Blaine? Is that you?"<p>

"Yeah dad," Blaine responded.

"Come into my office for a minute, son."

As Blaine walked down the hallway, he wondered what this could be about. He felt uneasy, as if maybe somehow his father had heard about what happened at school. But when Blaine walked into the office, his father didn't even seem to notice the sizeable bruise on the side of his son's face.

"I've been doing some thinking about your working at the office to pay for the bike tires. As soon as this play of yours is over, you can start working. Every day after school for two weeks."

"Wait – so we won't get my bike fixed until then?" Blaine asked.

"Yes."

"So I'll have to walk to school every day until then? Dad!"

"Blaine, you have to learn to deal with the consequences of your actions. You were careless with your bike, and now you know not to be again."

Blaine wanted to fight back, to tell his father that is really wasn't his fault, but he knew he never could.

"Thanks, dad," Blaine mumbled, looking at the carpet as he walked out of the room. He trudged out of the office and upstairs to his bedroom.

"Hey, Blaine, can I – woah! What the hell happened to you?" asked Shane, poking his head out of his door when he heard Blaine come up the stairs.

Blaine was not usually one to take out his anger on others, but he'd had enough stress today. "What do you think?" he snarled at his befuddled younger brother before slamming shut the door to his bedroom. Blaine then dropped his backpack on the floor, walked straight over to his bed and flopped down on the covers. He had at least three hours' worth of homework in his pack, but at this moment, he couldn't deal with it.

The ringing of the home phone shook Blaine out of his brooding. He walked across the room and pulled a notebook out of his backpack, intending to begin his geometry homework.

"Blaine!" his mother called up the stairs. "Telephone!"

_Who would be calling me? _Blaine asked himself. _Especially on the home phone…_

He tentatively picked up the extension in his room. "Hello?"

"Hi Blaine, it's Erin."

"Oh! Hi Erin."

"Sorry about calling, but I was just worried about you, I guess. I don't usually have to deal with physical bullying and you've had to deal with a lot of it in the past week, and I thought you might need a…friend?"

Blaine's bad mood immediately dissipated. "Thanks," he said heartily. "Remember when we were talking in the halls and I asked if you noticed something, but then I left?"

"Yeah," Erin said. "What was that about?"

"Well, this morning…they cornered me outside my English classroom. And Mr. Strickland came out and stopped them after a while, and then he said something about not wanting to see any more fights. And it just got me thinking. About how he really feels about me…"

"What do you mean?" Erin asked.

"Well, before he broke it up, I thought I saw something like…disgust in his eyes when he was looking down at me. And then he really emphasized that he didn't want to see any more."

"You think he was telling the guys to beat you up somewhere else so he didn't _have _to stop it?" Erin asked aghast.

"It's just a theory! I mean, after that, he seemed really reluctant to give me a pass to the nurse even though I was bleeding a lot, so I thought that maybe there was a reason…"

"Wow…" Erin said heavily. "That dickhead!"

Blaine sighed in relief. "So you agree with me?"

"Well, I've never had him so I don't really know much about him, but from everything you're saying…" Erin trailed off.

"I should get back to my homework," Blaine said after a moment of silence. "But…thanks for calling."

After they hung up, Blaine sat back for a moment, smiling, before starting his homework.


	4. Chapter 4

Blaine's social life didn't entirely consist of being shoved into lockers, beaten up after school, and locked in closets. He still did the same extracurricular activities as in middle school. And they now provided the comfort he needed to keep going through each day of high school.

He spent most lunches in the chorus hallway because it was rarely travelled by the jocks. It kept him mostly safe.

After school, Blaine went to the auditorium to rehearse for the school musical, Grease. He didn't have a lead role, but he did have fun with the rest of the cast. These people knew he was gay, and didn't bully him for it. But they also didn't try to stop the bullying when it happened in front of them.

Blaine hadn't had too much trouble in English class. Mr. Strickland certainly did seem to require that Blaine prove himself more than the rest of the students, and Blaine found himself defending his work more often than he'd have liked, but it wasn't as if Strickland was actually failing him for no reason.

* * *

><p>One day in November, Blaine found himself in line at the cafeteria. This was by far the most dangerous part of the day. He was completely exposed and at the mercy of his peers. Since he'd become busier in the afternoon, they couldn't catch him after school. They still did manage to lock him up in the closet every so often, but nothing as bad as the day when Erin saved him.<p>

Blaine exited the lunch line with a fully loaded tray and prayed that no feet would stick out and no hands would shove the tray into his face as he walked out of the lunchroom, through the halls, and into the music hallway. He was halfway through the main aisle in the cafeteria when two feet, one from either side, stuck out in front of him, tripping him and getting food all over.

Blaine was used to this by now, but it didn't make it any easier. He closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and began to stand up. At which point a very strong set of hands pushed him right back into his splattered food on the ground. He could hear laughter above him as he tried once again to stand up. Before he made it quite past a low crouch, he heard footsteps approaching and assumed that it was someone else there to torment him. But instead a hand stuck out, offering to help him up. Blaine looked up and saw Erin smiling at him. She helped him stand back up and brushed off his clothes as best as she could.

"Come on and sit with me," she said, leading Blaine to some tables outside the school.

"Thanks," he said. "You always seem to be…saving me."

"Hey," she said, "we've got to stick up for each other. We can't let them just walk all over us."

She resumed eating, offering half of her turkey sandwich to Blaine. He smiled and took it, savoring each bite. When the bell rang 20 minutes later, the two stood up and went their separate ways.

* * *

><p>Things stayed quiet for the next few weeks. Blaine performed in <em>Grease<em>. Shane made sure to be there every night. His mother only came on closing night. Bart never came at all.

The day after his last performance in _Grease_, Bart informed Blaine that he would be expecting him in his office after school the very next day. Blaine looked confused, so Bart sighed and elaborated. "Our agreement to pay for your tires, remember? We'll need you to help us file some old documents; the office _is _getting pretty crowded."

Blaine grimaced. _Right, manual labor_, he thought. "Sure dad," he said out loud. "Wait—how am I supposed to get there?"

"Take the bus."

Blaine nodded at his father and walked out of the office unhappily. The bus took a long time to get to his dad's work; it was practically the last stop. Plus, some kids took it from school and it was often crowded. He was not looking forward to the next two weeks of his life.

* * *

><p>After school Monday, Blaine sadly told his cast mates that he couldn't help strike the set since he had to go to his dad's office. It would have been fun; he enjoyed every moment of the school day that wasn't spent in hostile environments. He walked past the auditorium and up one block past Stanton, hopefully increasing his chances of getting a seat on the bus.<p>

At 2:45, Blaine saw the bus coming over the hill. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and checked in his pocket to make sure he had enough change. He slowly stepped up onto the bus, paid his fare, and sat down in one of the center-facing seats in the front of the bus. He saw a girl in a uniform for Sacred Heart Academy, the Catholic school down the street from Stanton, sitting a few seats down from him. She was of a small build and had light brown hair. She looked up, caught Blaine's eye and smiled. He immediately looked down, blushing.

At the next stop, in front of Stanton, a flood of students entered the bus. Once everyone was settled and the bus resumed movement, there were a few kids standing in the aisle, and Blaine found himself sandwiched between two other boys.

Unbeknownst to Blaine, who was bending down to check for something in his backpack, the two boys on either side of him made eye contact and held a silent conversation. One pointed down at Blaine, and the other punched a fist into his hand. The two boys nodded and smiled.

Blaine sat back up in his seat, unaware that anything could potentially go wrong on his bus ride. A few stops later, the boys made their move. The first grabbed Blaine and forced his face into the window behind him while the other held him back to keep him from struggling.

"Hey, homo," the first growled into his ear. "Don't get any ideas. I don't like you prancing all around our school and spreading your fairy dust everywhere."

"Yeah," the second agreed. "You know, I'm not really a fan of even having to share the same air with a fag like you."

By now a number of the other bus riders had noticed the commotion. The bus driver looked uneasily into his rearview mirror, trying to assess the situation. But these were high school boys. They liked to roughhouse with each other. A group of Stanton boys and girls had surrounded the trio, shielding Blaine's anguish from the bus driver.

The boy pushed Blaine further into the glass while forcing his hand around his neck. "Maybe we should stop you before you try to do anything else," he threatened, hands tightening over Blaine's throat. The younger boy began to sputter, his eyes filled with fear.

"Hey!" a voice called from the back of the crowd. The Sacred Heart girl had stood up and was now pushing to be closer to Blaine. "Let him go! He wasn't doing anything to you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, prep," the boy spat.

"I saw him. He was just sitting there."

"Yeah, and that's my problem with him. He sits here and tries to get his gayness all over us."

"I'm pretty sure he was looking at some of the guys on the bus," the second boy added.

"So?" the girl asked. "I'm looking at you right now, and _believe me_, sex is the last thing I want to do to you." With that, she stepped forward, drew back her hand, and slapped the face of the boy who was choking Blaine. It wasn't a hard slap, but it was effective. He let go of Blaine in surprise. Blaine, meanwhile, leaned forward, head between his knees, trying to get air circulating again.

"You little bitch," the boy growled, standing up to the Sacred Heart girl. Blaine looked up at his savior and thanked her with his eyes.

"Oh, grow a pair," she spat at the boy before turning her back and sitting back down again.

Blaine nervously remained in his seat, but the boy did not sit back down. He simply stood, glaring back and forth between Blaine and the girl.

Blaine got off at the next stop. It was a little earlier than he was supposed to get off, but it wasn't too far of a walk to his father's office from here, and he couldn't stand to spend another minute on the bus.

Blaine continued to take the same bus ride for the next two weeks, but he was never bothered again. He also never saw the girl from Sacred Heart after that first day.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, it was mid-December. Time had a strange way of moving way too fast, and then suddenly catching up with you. Blaine's life had been a blur of activity for the past month from rehearsals until ten at night and mounds of homework to the mind-numbingly boring work at his father's office. It was now his first day with absolutely no plans, and, of course, new bike tires.<p>

Blaine was walking to his freshman biology class after leaving the gym. Unfortunately, the quickest way to the class involved a mostly empty shortcut through the cafeteria. It was there that Blaine saw the two large forms walking towards him. He turned, intending to backtrack and risk being late for class, but saw another boy coming at him from behind. He was too tired to put up a fight, but would never be able to live with himself if he knew that he had just let the jocks get the better of him. So Blaine took off. The three boys anticipated his flight and caught him quickly.

They dragged Blaine back towards the gym and locker rooms. There were at least 15 people still mulling about in the gym hallways as the four boys passed through, but no one even batted an eye. No one ever did, they were all too used to it.

Into the smaller gym now, as usual. It was safe to lock victims in the closet in there because it was hardly ever used for P.E. classes. But something was different this time. The equipment closet door was already jammed shut with the broom handle. _Oh, God, please don't let it be Erin. Please say they haven't caught her yet! She's…she's my only friend in this place. Not her, PLEASE not her,_ Blaine thought desperately in his head as two of the boys restrained him off to the side while the third worked on the door. As soon as it was opened, Blaine was tossed in and the door was slammed shut behind him.

"Are you okay?" a voice asked.

_Oh, thank God. It's not Erin,_ Blaine thought before responding, "Yeah. Nothing too bad this time."

He saw a small light in the corner of the closet as the other boy held up his cell phone to try to catch a glimpse of Blaine. "I'm Micah," the boy said.

"Blaine," Blaine responded. "So, are you…?"

"Yeah, I'm gay too."

"Oh, okay. Cool," Blaine responded awkwardly. It was a little bizarre to be talking so casually when they were both locked up in a small, cramped closet for some unknown length of time.

"So…what grade are you in?" Blaine asked Micah after a brief awkward silence.

"Freshman."

"Oh. Me too."

"So…do you get dumped in here often?" Micah asked.

"Yeah."

"Same."

"It's weird. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I've never really seen anyone else get it. I didn't think anyone else did," Blaine said carefully to the boy.

"Well, you at least have an excuse. I'm assuming that you run the opposite way whenever you see any jocks, just like me. Everyone else just stands there staring."

"Yeah, I guess so…You know, in a way it's comforting to know that they're not only targeting me."

Both boys laughed weakly at this.

"Any particular reason you got thrown in today?" Micah asked Blaine. "I've actually heard about you…about the time they tried to lock you up for the weekend."

"Do they ever need a reason?" Blaine responded bitterly. "I guess they're just pissed that I used to be friends and hang out with some of the guys who are now the popular jocks. And now I'm gay. Like all that time I was secretly planning this just to embarrass them."

"I guess that's one reason to be glad I didn't go to school with anyone from here. My family moved over the summer into this district. So all my friends are at another school that's almost an hour away."

"Wow. That sucks," Blaine said. "Did they know that you're gay?"

"Yeah, and at my old school, no one cared."

"I wish that was how it is here."

The two boys continued chatting for close to an hour. Finally, they heard someone working on loosening the broom handle and jumped up. The door opened, light spilling in, and Erin stood in front of them.

"Hey, thanks Erin," Blaine said to the girl. He looked over at Micah, seeing him properly for the first time. Micah was a little taller than Blaine with thoughtful eyes and dark brown hair. He was protectively clutching onto a thick book.

"What…?" Erin asked after seeing a second boy emerge from the closet. A flash of recognition came into her eyes. "Oh, so you must be the other freshman boy."

Micah laughed. "Oh, I see my reputation precedes me."

Erin joined in his laughter before offering her hand to the new boy. "Erin," she said.

"Micah," the other boy responded, gripping her hand.

The three stood silently for a moment, no one really sure what to say. Then Blaine asked, "What period is it now?" at the same time that Micah said, "Thanks for letting us out of there."

There was some awkward laughter and Erin responded, "Lunch hour. And no problem. I've let Blaine out many, _many _times before."

Blaine playfully hit her. "Hey, I'm not that helpless. There are just more of them than there are of us."

Micah's eyes flashed at this. "So, you're gay too?" he asked Erin.

"Yeah, but thankfully I don't let myself get caught since no one else in this school is brave enough to let you all out."

The three all laughed at this and began walking out of the gym. At the stairwell, Micah turned away. "I bring lunch to school…makes it a lot harder to get me in the cafeteria. I usually eat lunch in class and then spend lunch hour in the library," he explained.

"Did you get to eat it today?" Erin asked.

"No," Micah answered sheepishly. "It's still in my locker."

"Well, why don't you get it and then meet us for lunch? We should all stick together," Blaine said.

Micah smiled and nodded.

"Great," Erin said. "We'll be behind the school."

* * *

><p>Erin and Blaine walked through the lunch line together. Somehow, the incident today had made Blaine feel braver, rather than weaker as being bullied usually did to him. As he followed Erin through the cafeteria, catcalls followed the pair.<p>

Blaine had never realized how hard it was for Erin. She was usually the one saving him, she seemed so strong. But as they walked, Blaine saw Erin's head lower and her posture became slouched as she raced through the cafeteria to calls of "Dyke!" and "Lesbo!"

A punch to the face physically hurts, but the girls' catcalls seemed so much worse. They were shouting it out for everyone in the school to hear.

When they finally got outside, Blaine heard Erin take a quavering breath. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"Yes—I mean, I should be. It's the same every day," she replied.

"But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"Of course not. That's why they do it!" Erin exploded. "I just wish that for once someone would notice and care! I mean, we're people too! What makes them so much better than us?"

Blaine put his arm around her. "Me too," he said softly. He then led her off to steps behind the school where they sat while waiting for Micah.

Micah came jogging around the side of the building a few minutes later. "Hey guys," he said, smiling, and almost surprised that they were there for him.

The three began to eat in silence. That was the day everything changed for Blaine. The three of them were still a little awkward around each other, but they quickly became friends. Suddenly, Blaine was excited for school. He had somewhere to eat, and people to eat lunch with. Even the daily torture became less painful because he knew that there were two other people in the school who care about him. Sometimes, he would find Micah in the closet with him, sometimes he would be alone. But they always looked out for each other.


	5. Chapter 5

For the first time since the beginning of the school year, Blaine left his house with the intention of arriving at school _before _the bell rang. He parked his bike behind the building so that it would be less likely for the jocks to find it and vandalize it again. He then rushed inside to the library.

Blaine found Micah sitting at a table in the back and reading a book as usual. "Hey," said Blaine, smiling and sitting down across from him. It had been a few days since they'd met in the equipment closet, and they two boys and Erin had eaten lunch together on the back steps every day. They were slowly moving past the awkward phase and into friendship.

"Hi," Micah said.

"What are you reading now?" Blaine asked, in a jokingly exasperated tone.

Micah grinned at his friend. "_Crime and Punishment_," he replied.

Blaine wrinkled his nose. "Ew. Why do you want to read that?"

"Dostoyevsky is a brilliant writer, Blaine. You really should expand your interests beyond J.K. Rowing."

"Hey," Blaine replied, "I have read plenty of other books. I just don't usually choose books by Russian authors who gave their characters the most unpronounceable and confusing names known to man. Anyway, I prefer books that are lighter and easier to read."

Micah simply rolled his eyes and turned back to his book. Blaine knew that Micah wasn't snubbing him or intentionally ignoring him. Micah just really like reading. Blaine didn't mind at all. It just felt good to have someone to sit with again.

"So, not that I didn't want to see your bright and smiling face, but I also had a…favor to ask," Blaine said.

"Of course," Micah said, grinning. "What do you need me to do?"

"It's nothing, really, it's just that Strickland really has it out for me, so I need to turn in a really, _really_ good essay or else he'll probably fail me and say that I didn't read the book. So do you think you can read it over and maybe suggest improvements?" Blaine asked as he pulled a paper from his bag.

"Sure," Micah responded, holding out a hand for the paper and laughing. "What's it on?"

"_To Kill A Mockingbird_," Blaine said, then added: "Another book that I have read."

Micah took the paper and slipped it into his backpack. "I'll look it over during class. God knows I need something to do instead of listening to Senora Diaz go on about el supermercado or whatever."

The bell rang and the two boys picked up their packs and walked to the door of the library. Before they went their separate ways, Blaine turned to Micah and said, "See you at lunch!" Neither boy uttered what they were both thinking: _unless I see you in the closet._

* * *

><p>Blaine walked into his English class and sat down. Other students were mulling about around him, talking about plans for the weekend and for winter break, which was coming up in less than a week. As usual, they all ignored the boy sitting at the back of the classroom.<p>

As soon as the late bell rang, Mr. Strickland took his place in front of the class and cleared his throat. Everyone sat up at their seats and all conversations ceased.

"You should all have brought your rough drafts of your essays on _To Kill A Mockingbird_. I want to see them on your desks. If you do not have them, you will get a zero for the day."

Blaine sighed in relief, thankful that he had decided to print two copies of his essay. He rummaged around in his pack and pulled out the draft a moment before Mr. Strickland reached his desk.

"Your essay, Mr. Anderson?"

"Here, sir." Blaine held out his essay. His teacher's eyes flickered over the first page. He looked through it, as if trying his hardest to find something wrong.

"Very well then," he said stiffly as he replaced the essay on Blaine's desk.

When Strickland finished his survey of the essays, he announced that everyone was to break into pairs for a peer edit session. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the classroom erupted into a flurry of movement, and Blaine's stomach sank. No one would want to work with him; no one wanted to risk being associated with him in case any of the jocks saw.

Blaine surveyed the classroom hopefully, looking for someone who looked lost or without a partner. Finally, his eyes locked on a girl near the front of the room who seemed to be doing the same thing. He nervously approached her. "Do you, uh, have a partner?" Blaine asked.

"No," the girl responded stonily.

"Do you maybe want to work together? I think everyone else is taken."

The girl looked around, rolled her eyes, and harshly said, "Fine," as she ripped Blaine's paper out of his outstretched hand.

"I'm Blaine," he said, only slightly put off by her behavior.

"Carolyn," was her one word answer.

Blaine took her essay and began reading. When he had finished with Carolyn's essay, Blaine turned to her, planning to begin discussing the revisions that he had suggested. Instead she tutted impatiently and shoved his essay back into his hands. Blaine spent the last few minutes of class looking over his essay. Instead of revisions or helpful suggestions, she had written over the very top, "Stay away from me fag. I don't need your fucking help." Blaine flipped through the pages and saw other derogatory comments scattered about. At the end of the last page, she had scrawled, "Go to hell, freak!" _Believe me, _Blaine thought, _I'm already there._

Blaine felt tears building behind his eyes. He looked up and found Carolyn smiling at him from across the room, before covertly flipping him off.

"All right class, back to your seats!" Mr. Strickland called over the voices of students. "Everyone should have their own paper back now, but I hope you put your name on your partner's paper like you're supposed to because this will count as part of your final grade on the essay.

Blaine looked up and saw a panicked look cross Carolyn's face. He decided not to mention to her than Strickland was a homophobe and probably wouldn't deduct any points from her for what she had written.

The bell rang, and students began packing up their bags and leaving the room. Blaine was still upset about what Carolyn had written, but was surprised to find that he was more angry than hurt. He had gotten used to the names.

* * *

><p>At lunch, Micah handed his copy of Blaine's essay back to him. "It's pretty good. You could probably use more elevated language and a more thoughtful analysis of the text, but you do have a very solid thesis."<p>

Blaine looked down at his paper which, like the other copy, was covered in writing. This writing, however, was all constructive comments and suggestions. "Thanks," Blaine said as Erin joined the two boys on the stairs. "This is a lot more helpful than the peer review that we had to do in class."

"What happened?" Micah asked.

Blaine fished around in his backpack and extracted the paper. He held it for Micah and Erin to see. Their eyes widened as they read through all the remarks.

"Holy shit," Erin muttered when she reached the end.

"Wow. That was…harsh," Micah said in agreement.

"Yeah," Blaine said, but at this moment, he wasn't even bothered by the comments. He was relishing in the fact that he had friends who really cared about him.

"How's your teacher going to react when he sees this?" Erin asked.

"I have Strickland, remember? He'll probably tell her 'Good job' and give her a pat on the back," Blaine replied angrily.

"Right. I forgot," Erin replied grimly.

"Does this girl have any particular vendetta against you?" Micah asked.

"No, nothing more than usual. I don't think I've ever seen her before."

"Not like anyone here ever needs a reason, though," Erin said, now holding Blaine's paper away from her as if it were a particularly smelly old shoe.

"This isn't right," Blaine said suddenly.

"Your sandwich?" Micah asked indicating the untouched sandwich in Blaine's hands.

"No," Blaine replied, grinning. "Although it's cafeteria food, so it really isn't that good. But I meant that we have to hide behind the school just to eat our lunches in peace. And that they all just walk over us and we accept it as a fact of life."

"Yeah, but that's how it is. Nothing's going to change _their _opinion of us," Micah said glumly.

"So what?" said Erin, nodding. "That doesn't mean that they can push us around!"

"They can push us around because there are more of them and they're stronger!" Micah said. "Look, I don't want to be a Debbie Downer or whatever, but if the teachers don't give a damn, what can we do? No one's going to stop them!"

"We can go to the school board," Erin suggested.

"NO!" Blaine said quickly. The other two looked at him, confused. "Uh, I mean, maybe – maybe Micah is right. Maybe we should just grin and bear it? Anyway, this is all we ever talk about. Let's talk about something light and easy for once." Blaine still had not told his new friends how opposed his father was to any sort of "alternate" lifestyles.

"Like what?" Erin asked sarcastically.

"I don't know. What are your plans for winter break?" Blaine asked.

"That's your idea of a light and easy topic? You've obviously never met my family," Erin replied.

"Why? What's wrong with them?" Micah asked.

"Well, we all get along fine when we only see each other for a little bit each day, but my sister will be back from college and the second she steps through the door, my parents will start bothering her about her boyfriend, and she and I have never gotten along. And then my mom's parents will come down and they are seriously Jewish and resent that my mom married a Christian man, so we'll have a seriously tense Hanukkah, and then an awkward Christmas with them still there."

"Wow," both boys replied in unison.

"Yeah, should be tons of fun," Erin replied with a grimace. "What are your plans?"

"I'm going to visit my grandfather in New York," Blaine offered.

"I'm probably going to be here for the holidays," Micah said. "My family isn't big on celebrations or anything. We usually have a tree and some presents but on elaborate dinners or extended family coming in or anything."

"Believe me, you're not missing out on anything," Erin said darkly.

"Well then, how about a different happier topic?" Blaine suggested. "Any ideas?"

"Are you guys…doing anything tonight or this weekend?" Micah asked tentatively.

"I have track practice for a while after school," Erin said. "But other than that, nope."

"Shockingly, I'm not the most popular houseguest anymore," Blaine said. "So, no, I don't have any plans either."

"Do you guys maybe want to…hang out?" Micah suggested.

"Sure!" Blaine replied quickly. The truth was, he was aching for some company. Sure Shane could be fun, but he needed something other than his excitable little brother and computer to entertain him. "You guys could come to my house. We have a ton of food, and music, and video games and stuff."

"As long as the food's better than this crap, I'm there," Erin said. "After track, of course."

"Sounds good. Really good," Micah said.

"I can walk my bike home with you," Blaine suggested when he remembered that they would have to walk. "Sorry that it might be a little cold. We could take the bus, there's a stop a little closer to my house, but then I'd have to leave my bike here."

"Plus, we don't want any repeats of what happened to you," Micah added. All three winced at the memory. Blaine had come to school the day after his first disastrous bus ride wearing a scarf tightly around his neck. Erin had passed him in the hall and asked him why he was wearing the scarf. He had pulled it away, revealing the finger shaped bruises along his neck. He and Erin had told Micah all about it a few days ago when they were all trading bullying horror stories. "I'm fine with walking. It doesn't really get that cold in California."

* * *

><p>Micah was waiting for Blaine by the main entrance to the school.<p>

"Hey!" he greeted his friend as he saw him approach.

"I just need to get my bike and then we can go," Blaine told him.

The two boys walked around the back of the school to where Blaine locked up his bike. He quickly pulled it out from behind the bush, and rolled it onto the sidewalk. "Okay then. Shall we?" he said before starting off down the street.

"So where _do _you live?" Micah asked Blaine. "Erin said your house was massive."

Blaine flushed slightly at this. "I live a little less than a mile away. It's really not that far, just through the neighborhood."

"Oh, cool," Micah replied.

The two boys set out on the walk back to Blaine's house. Once they arrived, Blaine parked his bike in the garage and showed Micah into the house.

"So, here is the living room…we have a TV here, but all the good stuff, like the game systems and the stereo, is downstairs. My dad's gun closet is over there. Don't even get close to it. I swear, I think he can sense when we're even thinking about it. He never uses them, so I don't know why we still have them…" Blaine led Micah into the next room. "And here is the kitchen. We have basically everything; my mother loves grocery shopping."

"Woah…" Micah said as he stepped into the kitchen. It was massive, and every surface was gleaming like some sort of kitchen cleaner commercial. Blaine just looked slightly embarrassed at Micah's reaction to his house.

"What do you want to do? Are you hungry? Or, I guess we could do a little homework, but it _is _Friday…" Blaine said.

"Chill out, Blaine," Micah said, putting a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"Sorry," Blaine said. "It's just…been a while since I've had friends over. Actually, it's been a while since I've had friends."

"Why don't we just watch some TV, okay?" Micah suggested.

"Great. What do you like to watch?"

"Let's just see what's on TV."

* * *

><p>The boys ended up watching How I Met Your Mother and discussing how hot Neil Patrick Harris is. After the first episode ended, Blaine stood up. "I'm going to get a snack. Do you want anything? We have popcorn, ice cream, pizza, pretty much anything."<p>

"I'll have some popcorn, thanks," Micah said.

Blaine walked out to the kitchen and left Micah in the living room. Almost as soon as Blaine left, the garage door opened and a boy who looked strikingly like Blaine entered. "Hey, Blaine, did mom do our laundry yet? Because I've – woah! You're not Blaine," Shane said to the boy on the couch.

"No I'm not, sorry. He just went into the kitchen. I'm Micah, one of his friends from school."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shane, his brother," Shane said, extending a hand. At that moment, the two boys locked eyes, and Shane felt something stirring inside of him that he had never felt before.

A few seconds later, Blaine walked back into the living room. "Oh, Micah, I see you've met Shane."

Shane and Micah let go of each other's hands. Shane was a little pink, and quickly said, "Well, I'm going to go upstairs and leave you two…" and then he ran off.

"Sorry about him," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. "He's a bit energetic and insane."

"He seems nice," Micah said, settling back into his seat on the couch and reaching out for a handful of popcorn.

"If you ever have the unfortunate luck of getting to know him, you'll realize what a pain in the ass he can be. Loveable, but crazy. He doesn't ever think before he acts. Kinda like a puppy. But puppies eventually get trained."

Micah laughed at Blaine's description of his younger brother. "I wish I had a brother or a sister," he said wistfully.

"You can have mine!"

"You two seem to get along really well. Does he know?" Micah asked carefully.

"Yeah, but he's the only one in my family who does," Blaine answered. "Does your family know?"

"No," Micah answered. "Although, I can't really see how considering that I was out at my old school, and everyone knew. Maybe they're just in denial…"

The two boys had moved downstairs and Blaine was slaughtering Micah in a video game when they heard the doorbell ring. "That must be Erin – hold on a minute," Blaine said as he ran up the stairs.

"Hi!" Blaine said cheerily as he opened the door.

"Nice house," Erin said, looking around the foyer with interest. "Should I take off my shoes?"

"Only if you really want to. Come on, Micah and I are downstairs," Blaine said, leading her to the staircase. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"Yes, actually. I'm ravenous after practice today. Coach had us do a really tough workout."

"Well, we've got pretty much everything here, so help yourself," Blaine said, showing Erin into the pantry. She grabbed a coke and a large bag of pretzels before following Blaine downstairs. She could hear the radio playing some Top 40 station in the background.

When the boys finished their game (Micah had died spectacularly about 15 times in the last level alone), Blaine offered his controller to Erin.

"No thanks," she said. "Video games aren't really my thing. Or Micah's for that matter."

Micah threw a pillow at her head. "Just because I like reading…"

"Well then, what do you want to do?" Blaine asked.

"Why not just do this? Sit around, listen to music, chat…" Erin suggested.

The three began talking about nothing really. It felt good to have people to just be casual with again. Soon, the conversation turned back to the one thing that had brought the three of them together: their sexualities.

"How did you come out?" Blaine asked Micah.

"I don't know if I was ever really _in,_" Micah answered truthfully. "My old school was just so…accepting. I mean, I never really liked girls, and I always told people that. Early in eighth grade, I told my best friend that I was pretty sure I liked guys because I had a major crush on this one boy in our class, and I'd never had a crush on a girl before. And he was just like, 'Cool,' and then continued on like everything was normal. No one cared that I was gay."

"Wow, that sounds nice," Blaine said.

"Yeah, it was," Micah said wistfully.

"Do you miss them?" Erin asked, putting one of her hands over Micah's.

"Sometimes. I mean, we still talk but it's just not the same."

"What about you, Erin?" Blaine asked.

"It was pretty bad," she began. "It was in the beginning of my freshman year and I had just joined the track team. I wasn't really clicking with any of the other girls, though. I already knew that I was lesbian at this time, but I wasn't out. We had a big sleepover before one of our meets and were playing truth or dare. One of the girls asked me, so I chose truth. She asked me who I liked at school, so I stupidly told the truth. Everyone was quiet for a moment, and then this one girl was like, 'Wait – that's a chick. You like girls?' And suddenly everyone was freaking out, but trying to remain totally calm. The girl who was hosting came up to me a little while later and was like, 'Some of the girls are uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as you. Would you mind sleeping in a different room?' It was the most embarrassing and uncomfortable experience of my life. And, shockingly, I've never been invited to a track team sleepover since."

"Wow…" Micah said. "What about you, Blaine?"

Blaine winced at the thought of the summer, still raw in his mind. "You don't want all the depressing details. But basically, I was with my best friends and they were talking about this girl and I said she was all right, so they asked me my type. And I accidentally said something about 'he' and they freaked out. And then the entire school spammed my Facebook with stuff like 'fag' until I deleted it." He said this all very quickly, not looking at either of his friends now.

"Geez…this sucks, guys," Micah said, officially the biggest understatement of the evening. "And do anyone's parents or family know?"

All three shook their heads. "I mean, what are we so afraid of?" Micah asked.

"Did you _see _my dad's gun collection upstairs?" Blaine asked, half seriously. "I'm pretty sure he'd shoot me if I came out to him. You should hear they way he talks about gays."

"I don't know how my parents would react," Erin began. "I'm just not ready to tell them. I don't really know why, considering that the whole school knows and all. I just haven't found the right moment yet."

All three sat in silence, contemplating their experiences. From upstairs, the security system beeped, indicating that the front door was being opened. "Oh, crap! I totally forgot to tell my parents you guys were coming over!" Blaine exclaimed, jumping up.

"That's okay, we can leave," Erin offered.

"No way, I want you guys to stay. I just need to talk to them. I'll be right back."

Blaine thundered up the stairs and almost crashed into his mother in the kitchen. "Blaine! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry mom. Listen, I have a couple of friends over. Can they stay for dinner?"

"Of course, honey. Who is it? I haven't seen many of your friends in a long time," Marlene Anderson said, elated that Blaine was inviting friends over again.

"No mom, you don't know them. They're people I just met this year. You know how people always change circles in high school…" Blaine said. "Anyway, I'm going to go back down to them. Thanks!"

Blaine met his friends downstairs. "You guys can stay!" he said. "Just don't mention anything that happens to us at school, or the whole…gay thing. I think we've already covered how my father feels about that."

Micah and Erin exchanged looks before looking back to Blaine and saying, "Great."

"Come on upstairs so I can introduce you," he said.

When the three kids arrived in the kitchen, Mrs. Anderson was standing in front of the oven. "Mom? These are my friends," Blaine said.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, turning around. "It's so nice to meet you two."

"Hi Mrs. Anderson," Erin said, extending a hand. "I'm Erin Delaney."

"I'm Micah Randall. It's nice to meet you," Micah added.

"Nice to finally meet Blaine's friends," Marlene said. "I hope you like lasagna. I made some this morning before I knew that we would have guests and I'm just putting it in the oven now."

"That sounds great, Mrs. Anderson," Erin said, flashing a smile. "You have a really beautiful house."

"Oh, you two are too sweet," Marlene said.

Blaine rolled his eyes, and pulled his friends' arms. "Come on guys. Let's wait upstairs until dinner."

They went up the stairs, giggling. "Your mom is really nice," Erin said after they entered Blaine's room.

"You play?" Micah asked, pointing to the guitar sitting in the corner of the room.

"A little," Blaine admitted. "Mostly I just play around with it."

Erin was walking around the room, looking at the walls, while Micah gazed at the bookshelf.

"Are these your old friends?" Erin asked, pointing to some pictures on the walls.

"Yeah," Blaine admitted. Micah left his position in front of the bookshelf to look at the pictures too.

"You really miss them, don't you?" Micah asked.

"Of course. Don't you miss your old friends too?"

"Sure, but it's not the same for me. I still talk to them."

Erin and Micah continued admiring the collage that Blaine had crafted to hang on his wall.

"Wait – isn't this guy on the football team?" Erin asked, pointing to a picture of Blaine, Andy, and Jeremy. It was taken two years ago at a baseball game that they had attended because Andy's dad's boss gave him some box seat tickets. The three were standing in front of the stadium with huge grins across their faces.

"Yeah," Micah agreed. "I've definitely seen him…around. You know, when they corner me and stuff."

Both turned to look at Blaine.

"He was my best friend," Blaine said simply, sinking down onto his bed. Micah sat down next to him and put a hand over his. Erin stood above them, looking down on the two with a sad expression. The moment lasted only a second longer, before there was a knock at the door.

"Blaine? You in there?" Shane called.

"Yeah, come on in," Blaine replied.

Shane walked into Blaine's room to see Blaine and Micah frozen, holding hands.

"Oh, sorry for…interrupting," Shane said awkwardly, eyes locked on Micah.

"No," Blaine said, standing up. "It's fine. Did you need something?"

"Right," Shane said, tearing his eyes away and shaking his head. "Um, well I was going to ask you something, but you know what? We can do this later."

"Are – are you sure?" Blaine asked his brother, a look of concern coming to his face.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you later, okay?" With that, Shane quickly fled the room.

Erin gave Blaine a questioning look as the door shut behind Shane's retreating back.

"My brother," Blaine elaborated. "He's usually more…energetic. I don't really know what's gotten into him today."

Erin laughed. "I know what you mean. My sister has mood swings like no other. Although I think there are biological explanations for hers."

Blaine and Micah both turned red and looked to the floor. Erin laughed loudly at the reaction she had elicited in the two boys.

* * *

><p>"Would you pass the parmesan, please?" Erin asked Shane politely from across the dining room table. Shane took the bowl of parmesan and passed it across the table to Erin. He was seated next to Micah, Blaine and Erin sat on the other side of the table, and Bart and Marlene sat at either end.<p>

"This is really good, Mrs. Anderson," Micah said.

"Thanks, would you like some more?" Marlene asked.

"No, I've already had two helpings," Micah said, smiling.

"So how do you three know each other?" Bart asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't recall if I've ever heard Blaine mention you before."

"Dad!" Blaine hissed, looking embarrassed.

"We met in school this year," Erin began.

"Oh, do you have classes together?" Mrs. Anderson asked.

"No," Erin said. "I'm a sophomore. We all had similar interests and just began hanging out together."

"Blaine and I met through some…mutual friends," Micah added.

Blaine shot them both a gracious glance.

"That's nice," Marlene responded absently. "Well, you two are welcome here any time. We always enjoy Blaine's friends."

Blaine sunk his face in his hand. He could always count on his parents to embarrass him. When he looked up, both Erin and Micah were silently giggling at his humiliation.

* * *

><p>After Erin and Micah had both left, Bart went up to Blaine's room. He found his eldest son lying on the bed, reading a book.<p>

"Blaine?" Bart called from the doorway.

"Oh, dad!" Blaine responded, clearly flustered. "Come on in."

"It was nice to meet your friends tonight. They seemed very cordial."

"Uh…thanks?"

"Is there anything you wanted to tell me, son?" Bart asked, now very seriously.

_Does he know? _Blaine thought hopefully. "About what, dad?"

"You and…Erin," Bart said carefully.

Blaine was shocked. "Um, what?"

"I saw the way she looked at you. I thought, maybe there was something there and you were afraid to tell me and mom."

"No, dad. There is NOTHING between me and Erin. Nada," Blaine responded resolutely. He was about to laugh – him and Erin? What could have given his father that idea?

"Okay, I was just checking. Good night, son," Bart said.

"Yeah. Night dad."

* * *

><p>It was a few hours later when Blaine remembered that Shane had wanted to ask him something. He slipped out his bedroom and went down the hall, but the room next door was dark and Shane was already asleep.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

School let out at noon on December 19th. Blaine, Erin, and Micah had decided to hang out downtown after school, as Blaine would be leaving the next day and it was the last time they would be able to hang out until New Years.

The trio decided to waste a bit of time hanging out at school before taking the bus downtown. As it was the start of break, everyone would be going downtown to hang out and they didn't want to risk injury. Thankfully, all fall sports were over, so no jocks were staying at school any longer than they had to. Blaine, Erin, and Micah spent about an hour hanging out at the playground next to Stanton. They played a depressingly small game of fish for a while, but soon ended up sitting on the equipment and chatting.

Micah had found a tennis ball on the field and was absently bouncing it on the ground while Blaine ranted about the holidays with his family. Now that he had friends that he enjoyed spending time with, the prospect of an entire week of just family time was daunting.

"I mean, I love my family, don't get me wrong," Blaine was saying, "but sometimes spending time with them is just…exhausting. Like my dad is always bothering me about girls and I just want to scream 'I'm GAY!' at the top of my lungs!"

Erin reached out and patted Blaine on the back, giving him an understanding smile.

Blaine continued speaking. It felt good to finally say all of this out loud. "I mean, the other night, after you guys were over for dinner, he asked me if I was dating you!"

Micah snorted at this. "Really? I cannot imagine a weirder pairing."

"Well," Erin said slowly, "it _is _an idea…"

"What is?" asked Blaine flabbergasted.

"You and me. Pretending to date. It'd get your parents off your back."

"Are you insane?" Blaine asked, clearly convinced that his friend should be shipped off to a mental institution as soon as possible.

"No," Micah said, "it makes sense. Your parents seem to be the most…traditional. If this makes them happy, why not do it? It's not like you're completely lying. You _do _like Erin, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"And you think I'm hot?"

"I guess, but—"

"Then it's settled. Blaine Anderson, will you be my boyfriend?" Erin asked, getting down on one knee as if she was proposing.

Blaine gave his two best friends a look that clearly suggested that he thought they'd gone off the deep end.

"Well?" Micah said, trying to keep the smirk off his face, but failing spectacularly.

Blaine deliberated a moment longer. It really would keep his parents off his case – when Shane pretended to date Maggie, he got to keep dancing. Maybe – just maybe – this could work in his favor. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but sure. Yes, Erin, I'd be honored to be your fake boyfriend."

Micah fell to the ground in a booming fit of laughter, while Erin stood up, put her hands on Blaine's cheeks, and said, "Well, Blaine Anderson, let's make this official with a kiss."

"What? Um, no, I—" Blaine sputtered, face turning bright pink.

Erin immediately broke out in her bubbly and infectious laugh. "Oh, Blaine, you are so awkwardly adorable. You looked absolutely petrified of me! Don't worry; I don't plan to take advantage of you in this relationship."

Blaine just glared at Erin, Micah's howls of laughter providing background noise. "Don't ever do that again," he growled at her angrily.

Something flashed in Erin's eyes, and a grin cracked out across Blaine's face. "See? Two can play this game," he shouted gleefully.

* * *

><p>The three boarded a mercifully empty bus and enjoyed a completely uneventful bus ride downtown.<p>

"Are you guys hungry?" Erin asked when they exited the bus.

"Well, considering that I'm used to seeing my lunch dumped on the floor and not having enough food to eat…" Blaine began, while Micah (who brought his lunch and therefore always got to eat) sensibly responded, "Starved."

"What are you in the mood for?" she asked Micah, ignoring Blaine.

"Anything's better than the cafeteria crap," Blaine responded. Still Erin ignored him, though.

"Um, excuse me? I finally become your boyfriend, and now you just ignore me?" Blaine asked, feigning insult.

"Oh, I'm sorry my love," Erin said. "Here, let me make it up to you!" And she once again leaned very close to Blaine until he was forced to turn his bright red face away.

"Ahem, guys," Micah said. "Cool it with the PDA, would you?"

"Oh, looks like someone is a little jealous," Erin said to Blaine.

"Well, we'll just have to fix that, won't we?" Blaine responded.

And together, the two smushed Micah in a bear hug, then linked arms with him and began walking down the sidewalk toward town, laughing loudly.

Blaine was humming "We're off to see the wizard" under his breath, and his two friends looked at him. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Whenever I walk like this, I always feel like I have to sing Wizard of Oz stuff…" Erin and Micah just laughed at their quirky, musical friend.

"But seriously, where do you guys want to eat?" Erin asked again a few minutes later.

"Well, since it's later than the usual lunch rush, we really can go anywhere," Micah said.

"How about Justine's Café?" Blaine suggested. Justine's was a popular place to eat because the food was always good, and it was cheap.

"Sounds good," Micah said while Erin nodded in agreement.

The three clumsily walked over to the café, still with arms linked.

* * *

><p>Inside, Justine's was warm and comfortable. The trio chose a table towards the back of the restaurant and began to look at menus. A waitress came over to the table and took their drink orders. She looked like she was about their age, maybe slightly older. As soon as she was out of earshot, Erin exclaimed, "Man, she is really <em>hot!<em>"

"Erin!" Micah hissed, looking nervously over his shoulders. "Don't say that so loud. What if someone overheard?"

"Don't be so jumpy—we're not in school anymore!" Erin responded, laughing recklessly.

"Still…" Blaine said.

"You two are so …" Erin made noises of frustration, but quieted down.

"Maybe it's because we're more used to getting physically assaulted, and we'd really rather not have that happen again," Micah said.

"Really? Why does that have to be all we talk about?" Blaine asked exasperatedly.

"Right," Erin said. "What are you ordering then?"

"Uh…I don't really know. I've never actually been here before," Blaine admitted, smiling sheepishly.

"Same," Micah said. "But I've heard that the sandwiches are good…"

Erin giggled. "Well, I know what I'm getting."

Blaine and Micah looked over the menu as the waitress brought their drinks over. "You guys ready to order yet?" she asked.

"Yeah," Erin said. "I'll have the Greek salad."

"Um," Micah began as the waitress turned to him, "I guess I'll have the turkey sandwich."

"And I'll have the chicken, tomato, and mozzarella sandwich."

"Great," the waitress said, closing her notepad and flashing a bright smile to Micah before walking away.

"What was _that_?" Erin asked in a fit of laughter.

"What do you mean?" Micah asked, genuinely confused.

"Um, did you not _see _how the waitress looked at you?" Blaine asked, doing a much better job than Erin at keeping a straight face.

"How?"

"She's got the hots for you!" Erin burst out.

A look of panic crossed Micah's face. "W - what?"

"Hey, it looks like we've _both _got ourselves girlfriends now," Blaine said with a devilish grin as he thumped Micah on the back. "Who'd've thought that the only two gay guys in our school would be so _good _at picking up girls?"

"I highly doubt that she was…_flirting_…with me. She was just being nice. It's her _job_," Micah protested, but he was unheard by his laughing friends. To finally get them to shut up, he punched them both on the shoulders; it wasn't a hard punch, but it was certainly more forceful than either of them expected.

"Chill, man," Blaine said.

"Yeah, we were just playing with you."

Micah just shook his head, as if trying to clear it out. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, and took a big gulp of his root beer.

There was a brief lull in the conversation. Erin scanned the café, and suddenly gasped, a look of horror crossing her face. "Okay guys, don't panic, and DON'T turn around. Blaine, I think your friend just walked in."

"What friend?" Blaine asked, turning to look at the door.

Erin grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down. "Didn't I just tell you to not turn around?" she hissed. "It's your old friend, the one from the picture. You know, the jock."

Blaine's eyes widened and Micah seemed to shrink down into his seat. Very carefully and stealthily, Blaine peeked over his shoulder to where a group of boys was sitting down. "Shit," he muttered.

"So what do we do?" Micah asked. "We can't just go!"

"Yeah, we can't let them chase us out of here and push us around like they do at school," Erin said. "Anyway, they might not even notice us."

Blaine was silent and white as a sheet. He hadn't been this close to Jeremy since the first day back at school when he'd accosted Blaine in the hall. He closed his eyes and began to breathe deeply.

"Blaine? You okay?" Micah asked, putting an arm over his friend's shoulders.

"If you want, we can leave," Erin offered.

"No, I'm – it's just…" Blaine trailed off. "It's hard for me to conceive that that boy is the same one that gave me half of his sandwich in the second grade when I forgot my lunch."

Erin gave Blaine a pitying look. "Look, I know it's hard to see the people that you were once close with now look at you like you're a leper or something. Believe me, after I came out, all of friends slowly just…stopped calling me back. But that's why we've got to stay strong. To show them that they can't break us that easily."

"Yeah," Micah said in agreement. "Courage."

Blaine smiled at his friends. "Thanks guys. Let's stay here. We can take them."

The waitress came over a few minutes later with their lunches. She set Micah's in front of him and flashed him another big smile.

Micah joined in with Erin's and Blaine's laughs this time. "Okay, okay," he conceded, "I see what you mean."

* * *

><p>The three ate their lunches, still careful to not be too loud or sit up too tall. After they paid, they tried to sneak out of Justine's without being seen. Unfortunately, their luck seemed to run out there.<p>

"Hey look," one of the boys said, "it's the fags."

Erin rolled her eyes and pulled Blaine and Micah closer to her, muttering, "Ignore them…" under her breath. Blaine looked sadly back and for just a moment, he caught Jeremy's eye.

One of the jocks stood up, holding up a fist and smiling as he said, "Let's go have some fun."

"Come on guys, lay off them," Jeremy said to his friends as the trio walked out the door.

"What? Do you want to join them? Are you in love with the homos?" the other teased.

"No," Jeremy said, "it's just – it's break. Let's let up for just a day, okay?"

"Whatever, man," the first guy said, ignoring Jeremy and moving toward the door.

"Seriously, dude," Jeremy said, standing up and grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him roughly back.

"What the hell, man?"

"Not here. We'll probably just…get kicked out of the restaurant anyway…you know, for starting a fight or whatever."

"They wouldn't care. It's just a couple of queers."

"Not today, okay?"

The other boy glared a Jeremy, then looked outside. It looked as if Blaine, Erin, and Micah had disappeared.

"Fuck you man," he said, sitting back down and glaring at Jeremy.

Jeremy wasn't sure what he'd just done, but he felt better than he had in a while. Ever since he'd seen Blaine's face on the first day of school, he'd been determined to stay out of the bullying. Blaine had been his best friend for too long to just suddenly turn his back on.

* * *

><p>Outside Justine's Café, Blaine, Erin, and Micah stood in silent, frozen shock.<p>

"Wow," Micah muttered in wonderment.

"He just—" Erin began.

"Yeah," Blaine agreed.


	7. Chapter 7

Blaine was sitting next to Shane in the uncomfortable airport chairs. He was listening to music pumping through his iPod earbuds, not really paying attention to anything else. Above, the loudspeaker crackled and a voice spoke through the terminal. "Flight 1471 to New York La Guardia will begin boarding in five minutes with first class customers. Please have your tickets ready when we call your section to board."

Upon hearing this, Blaine pulled out his earbuds and turned off his iPod, stuffing it into the backpack that was sitting by his feet. His mother passed boarding passes to him and Shane. Of course the Anderson family was flying first class. Bart wouldn't stand for anything else. The two brothers compared their tickets, hoping to be seated next to each other. Blaine's ticket read seat 4A, while Shane was in seat 3A. Blaine sighed, realizing that he would be spending the next six hours sitting next to one of his parents.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Blaine was seated next to his father. As the airplane began to taxi down the runway, Blaine turned his head away, leaned it against the window and tried to fall asleep. He felt his father shift next to him, and a thought occurred to him. <em>Well, there's no time like the present,<em> Blaine thought nervously.

"Dad?" he began tentatively.

"Hm?" Bart asked looking up from some work papers that he had brought with him.

"I, uh, I wanted to ask you something…"

Bart looked at him, his eyes telling Blaine to start talking.

"Well, it's about…Erin," Blaine finished, blushing profusely. _It'll only make you more believable,_ the actor inside Blaine thought.

Bart smiled knowingly. "Oh?" he asked his son with raised eyebrows.

Blaine wasn't exactly sure what he was telling his dad. Just over a week ago he had stated in no uncertain terms that he was not interested. "Well, I do like her," he began unsurely, "and I don't really know what to do. I mean, I've never really…asked a girl out before." He blushed and looked down into his lap.

His father laughed kindly and put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. "I thought I saw something there."

Blaine found room in his worried mind to marvel at how oblivious his father could sometimes be.

"Just be yourself. She already likes you, I can tell that much. And when you're ready, ask her out. Take her someplace nice, and treat her right," Bart advised.

"Thanks dad," Blaine muttered. He didn't like having to lie to his parents, but his dad seemed so happy to hear this.

* * *

><p>After the flight attendants brought the drinks around, the screens in front of the seats flickered to life. Blaine brought out his earbuds and plugged them in, ready to pass the time on the long flight with whatever movie they were playing.<p>

He settled into his seat, letting the opening music from the movie wash over him. To his surprise, his father put down his papers, plugged in his own headphones, and also sat back to watch the movie.

The title flashed on the screen. _Milk_. Blaine had never heard of it before, so if it ended up being really bad, he could always pull his iPod back out.

Blaine stared transfixed at the small screen in front of him, knowing that the same images were being played for his father too. He didn't have to look over to know that Bart Anderson had stiffened in his seat, a look of disgust crossing his face.

The two men on screen were half naked, lying together in a bed, gripping each other, kidding passionately.

Blaine felt an odd mixture of joy and fear course through his body upon seeing the images. He kept his focus on the screen while noticing peripherally how worked up his father was becoming. It wasn't until Sean Penn's character spoke out about gay rights, however, that Bart finally ripped out his headphones in disgust.

Unwillingly, Blaine took out one of his earbuds and turned to his father.

"What's wrong, dad?" he asked carefully.

Bart didn't appear to hear his eldest son speak at all though. "What. The. Hell," Bart said, fuming, and continuing a rant that had already formed in his head. "I pay good money to fly on this airline, and all they can show me is some fucking gay crap? These people, _homos_, are disgusting…I can't _believe_ that they're promoting their fucking unnatural lifestyle in public where anyone can see!"

Blaine felt the sting of his father's harsh words that weren't directed at him, but still hurt nonetheless. His face betrayed nothing.

Bart took no notice of his son and pulled his papers back out of his bag to continue working. Shane, sitting in the row ahead, had heard everything. He awkwardly twisted in his seat so that his head was facing Blaine.

"You okay?" he asked his shell shocked brother.

Blaine just closed his eyes, nodded, and turned back to the movie. He had never heard of this man – Harvey Milk – before, but he wanted to know more. He wanted to see how this strong, inspiring man was able to deal with the ridicule of his peers just due to his sexual orientation.

Blaine watched in a stunned silence as the characters became emboldened by Harvey's quest and gathered the courage to come out to their families. _I want to do that someday. But my father would never accept me_, Blaine thought sadly.

* * *

><p>The movie was drawing to a close now, Blaine could feel it. His father's eyes looked up, just for a moment it seemed, and his attention was caught by the screen. He watched as the action played out silently in front of him.<p>

* * *

><p><em>A man was walking down the hallway. Desperate, perhaps insane, a man who felt that everything had been taken from him and he needed to take drastic measures in order to replace order in his life. He entered an office, spoke to a woman, and walked through a door. He spoke to a man, pulled out a gun, and shot.<em>

_He was back in the main hallway now. He found himself with Harvey Milk. They went to a room to talk, and the man drew the gun again and shot. And just like that, Harvey Milk was dead._

* * *

><p>Blaine gasped in shock and horror, tears threatening to leak out of the corners of his eyes. From his side, his father snorted, and looked back down to his papers.<p>

Blaine watched the last few minutes of the movie in a stunned silence, not caring if his father saw him cry. The candlelight vigil, the procession through the San Francisco streets. _It all happened so close to home_.

Blaine sat for a moment after the movie ended before removing his earbuds. His father turned to him, "How was the movie?"

Blaine gave a noncommittal jerk of the head.

"That gay man, the homo politician, he died, right?"

Blaine nodded this time.

Bart snorted again. "Well, he deserved it. Anyone living that way deserves to die…"

Blaine was silent a moment more before finally saying, "Do you really mean that? Can you really say that anyone deserves to die just because of who they love?" He said it so quietly, Bart barely heard. But he heard enough.

"I know what you're thinking, Blaine. But these – people – they live dirty lives."

Blaine just sadly nodded his head and turned away from his father as if he was trying to sleep. In reality, he was silently crying into his sleeve.

* * *

><p>The plane landed in New York at 7 pm local time. Blaine stood up and gathered his backpack before following his family off of the plane.<p>

They'd called for a car and it was waiting just outside of the baggage claim. Blaine hugged his arms to his chest. He had forgotten how much colder it was in New York. He hadn't thought to put on much more than a sweatshirt; his coat was packed in the bottom of his suitcase.

He found himself, as the smallest member of the family, smushed between Shane and his mother in the backseat while his father sat in the front next to the driver. He drove them through the busy New York to Marlene's father's apartment in the Upper East Side. James was standing in the lobby waiting to greet them when they arrived.

"How are my favorite grandsons?" he called to Blaine and Shane as they practically burst from the car and ran toward their grandfather.

"Grandpa!" Shane shouted, reaching his grandfather first and hugging him fast.

Blaine waited patiently for his brother to separate from his grandfather, then rushed in for a hug. It had been too long since he'd seen his favorite relative. Blaine and his grandfather were alike in so many ways. They both had the same hazel eyes that crinkled when they smiled. They shared all the same loves, and while Blaine was often described as being composed as someone much younger than him, his grandfather was joyous and youthful. They balanced each other perfectly.

Marlene was laughing at the reception, and finally was able to hug her father when her eldest son pulled away. "How are you, dad?" she whispered. Her mother had died just over a year ago, and he'd taken it badly. But, he seemed to be coping and thriving despite the absence of his partner of over forty years.

"I'm fine, you worry too much Marl," he said, laughing in the same way that Blaine did.

Bart walked up to his father-in-law and held out a hand. "Nice to see you, James," Bart noted stiffly.

The older man smiled and simply pulled his son-in-law into an embrace. Bart pulled away awkwardly and turned to pay the driver while Blaine and Shane began to collect the luggage.

"You know, dad, we really could stay in a hotel. I don't want the boys driving you crazy or anything," Marlene offered as the group walked toward the elevator.

"Nonsense," he began. "This old place is too big for me to be alone in all the time. And these boys keep me young," he added, ruffling Blaine's and Shane's curly heads. The boys grinned.

"So what do you have planned for us, grandpa?" Shane asked excitedly. Every year, James planned an amazing excursion in the city to enjoy with his grandsons.

"I may have a few surprises up my sleeve…" James said with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Oh, dad, don't spoil the boys too much," Marlene said amid her sons' protests.

By now, the family was inside the spacious New York apartment. Blaine and Shane immediately ran toward the spare bedroom that they always stayed in and began to get comfortable.

* * *

><p>When the two brothers were sure that their parents were out of earshot, Shane paused and turned to his still silent brother. "You sure you're okay about all the things dad was saying on the plane?"<p>

Blaine nodded his head slowly.

"Really?"

Blaine turned away.

"Because he didn't mean any of it about you. He loves you, and I'm sure he'd still love you even if he did know that you're…gay."

Blaine turned to face his brother with an incredulous look on his tear streaked face.

"Hey," Shane said softly, sitting next to his brother on the bed. "It's going to be okay."

_I wish you were right._

James knocked on the bedroom door before entering. "We're going out for dinner tonight," he told the two boys.

"Where?" asked Shane.

"Where else? Your father's favorite pizza place." James laughed, but stopped when he saw Blaine hunched over and the nervous looks that Shane kept shooting at him.

He gave Shane a questioning look, but the younger boy simply shook his head. The grandfather quietly told him to leave, that he would deal with the older boy.

"Blaine? Are you all right?" James asked as he sat down next to his grandson.

Blaine sniffed and wiped his face, but when he spoke, it was with a clear voice. "I'm…fine, grandpa," he said.

James reached out a hand and turned Blaine's face toward him. They boy's eyes were red, puffy, and sad, but he was trying his hardest to smile at his grandfather. He simply embraced the boy tightly, silently conveying him everything he needed to hear in the hug. When the two broke apart, Blaine smiled for real. "Thanks, grandpa. I needed that."

James left the room, deciding that alone time was best for his grandson. _When he's ready, _he thought to himself, _he'll tell me what's wrong. He always does._

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, Blaine's quiet alone time was interrupted shortly afterwards. He was in the bathroom, washing off his face, when Shane came bounding in.<p>

"Come on, Blaine! Everyone's waiting for you and I'm starving!"

"Just a minute, Shane. Seriously, haven't you heard of privacy?" Blaine snapped. Immediately, his brother's face fell, making him look like a hurt puppy. "Oh, come on, Shane, you know I didn't mean that. I'm just a little upset right now."

Shane's face broke into one of his devilish grins. "I know. I'm just playing with you!" With that, the younger boy ran out of the bathroom, the older boy hot on his heels. The two skidded to a halt just before they reached their parents and grandfather.

"Well?" Shane asked, as if he had been one of the ones kept waiting, rather than the other way around. "Aren't we going to go?"

James laughed at the boys' entrance and said, "You heard the boy! He's not to be kept waiting!" before walking out the door.

Blaine was the last to leave. As he passed through the door that his grandfather was holding open, he felt the older man's hand give his smaller one a tight squeeze.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, the boys found themselves lying in their bed in the dark bedroom. They weren't even close to tired yet, but their parents demanded that they go to sleep and try to get over the jet lag. Instead, the two boys were holding a whispered conversation.<p>

"I think I might come out to grandpa," Blaine said nervously.

"What?" Shane whispered loudly. He received a kick from Blaine telling him to quiet down. These apartment walls were thin. "Sorry," he said. "But, WHAT? If you think dad'll react badly to you telling him, how d'you think he'll react to hearing it from mom or grandpa?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, grandpa would ask them about you, wouldn't he?"

"Not if I told him I couldn't come out to them…yet."

"Yet?"

"I'll have to someday. Otherwise they'll be pretty surprised to find me married or in a civil union or whatever with another man."

That shut Shane up. He could barely think ahead a few minutes; he was more of an "act-before-you-think" type. But Blaine was already planning on…marriage? Blaine's frankness with him made him once again want to ask him the question that had been on his mind for the past two weeks. But he couldn't yet. Not now. So instead, the younger boy just stayed quiet.

"Shane…? You still awake?" Blaine asked when his brother remained silent for a few minutes.

"Yeah, I was just thinking," he responded pensively.

"M'kay then," Blaine said, turning on his side. He reached over the side of his bed and pulled out his iPod. He turned up the volume on his favorite Disney songs playlist and felt himself drifting off to sleep to the sounds of Beauty and the Beast.


	8. Chapter 8

Blaine woke to the sound of his cell phone chirping. He picked it up and saw that the digital display read 10:15 am. This confused him; it felt way too early to be 10. Then he noticed the room and remembered where he was, remembered the three hour time difference. New York. Just saying the name made Blaine smile.

Blaine flipped open his phone and saw that he had three missed messages from Erin and Micah.

_You in NY yet? – E_

_hows the big apple? – M_

_Blaine? Whats going on? Boring as usual here – M_

He smiled at his friends' messages, and then rolled out of bed. He padded over to the door, not bothering to change out of his plaid flannel pajama bottoms and white undershirt. When he entered the small kitchen, he found his parents and grandfather standing against the counter, talking in low voices, and drinking coffee.

"Hey, hon," Marlene said as Blaine walked in, rubbing his eyes and scratching his dark curls. "Want any breakfast? Your dad and I walked to the corner and got some bagels."

"Great," Blaine said, still not fully awake. He grabbed a bagel and sat down at the table.

"I was going to go in there if you two didn't come out soon," James said. "Is Shane still sleeping?"

"Like a rock."

The adults giggled appreciatively at the resentment in Blaine's tone. "I'll go wake him," Marlene said.

James joined Blaine at the table and offered him a cup of coffee. Blaine made a face and shook his head, and his grandfather laughed. "You'll want to be awake for what I have planned for today."

This caught Blaine's attention. "Right," he said between mouthfuls. "What are we doing today?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Shane walked out of the bedroom door, looking thoroughly unruffled. Unlike Blaine, who had managed to retain some of his composure despite the early hour, Shane's curly hair looked like a matted mess, and he had a dark expression on his face.

James simply smiled. "I know just how to fix this," he said, and went into the kitchen. Shane simply sat down and attacked a bagel. James came out a few minutes later with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and set it in front of Shane.

Shane took the mug in his hands and downed half of it before coming up for a breath. "Thanks," the younger boy said, smiling as the sugar entered his system.

"You know," Blaine said, "we don't usually let him have this much sugar in the morning. It makes him even more energetic than usual."

The boys' grandfather chuckled as Shane punched his brother lightly in the arm. Blaine pushed back, and soon they were having a gentle wrestling match in the kitchen.

"Boys," Bart warned from across the room.

"Sorry dad," the two chorused, putting on angelic smiles.

* * *

><p>After breakfast, the boys went back to their bedroom to get dressed and ready for their day out with their grandfather. Blaine picked up his phone and texted back his friends, despite the early hour in California.<p>

_Im in ny and its amazing! Little trouble on the flight, tell you about it later. – B_

He knew he had to tell his friends about his father, but worrying them too much now would be pointless. Instead, Blaine pulled on a pair of jeans, a thin t-shirt, and a green striped sweater. He also grabbed a wool hat which he pulled over his head. A few dark curls popped out from underneath the soft blue wool. Lastly, he slipped his feet into his old, worn out boots.

He and Shane emerged from their bedroom ready for a day in the city with their grandfather.

"Coats," Marlene said to the two boys before they could say anything else. Grumbling, the two boys pulled on their heavy winter coats, knowing that they would be thankful to have them in just a few minutes time.

James came into the living room, clapping his gloved hands together. "Ready to go?" he asked the boys.

They both nodded enthusiastically.

"Then let's not waste another minute here!"

* * *

><p>The three spent the morning gallivanting around New York City. Although Blaine and Shane had spent many Christmases here, the novelty never wore off. They ice skated at Rockefeller Center until they were numb, then went into NBC Studios for a tour (and to warm up). They had a warm lunch at Rockefeller Center while watching the skaters. They stopped at M&amp;Ms world, a favorite destination of Shane's. Soon, they were in the middle of Time's Square. James looked down at his watch and smiled.<p>

"Now, on to the best part of our day," he announced. Blaine and Shane turned toward him eagerly. "I wanted to do something special that you would both enjoy. There really seemed like only one answer. Blaine, I know how much you like theatre and singing, and Shane I know you love to dance."

Blaine thought he might have an idea of where this was going, but he didn't say anything, afraid to get his hopes up.

"So I got these," the grandfather said, holding up three tickets. Blaine and Shane reached out greedily.

"Yes!" exclaimed Blaine upon seeing the name on the tickets. "_Billy Elliott!_ I've wanted to see this for ages!"

"What is it?" Shane asked, a little confused.

"I'm sure your brother would be more than happy to explain," James said, smiling.

"I think you'll be able to relate quite well," Blaine said under his breath. "It's about this boy who wants to do ballet, but his dad doesn't want to let him because he's afraid of how it will make him look."

Shane gave Blaine a look that seemed to say everything that Blaine was thinking. _How much does grandpa know?_

Blaine simply shook his head at his younger brother, then turned back to his grandfather. "Thanks, grandpa. This is…amazing!"

"Yeah," Shane agreed, nodding fervently. "It sounds really good."

James smiled at the two boys, then pulled his pocket watch from his pocket, consulted it for a moment, then put it back. "Well then, let's not waste any more time. We have about an hour before the theatre opens. What do you want to do?"

* * *

><p>Shane, Blaine, and James joined the throngs flooding out of the theatre. They made a brief stop at the merchandise table before reentering the cold New York street. In the time that they'd been inside the theatre, it had begun to lightly snow. There was a thin layer covering awnings and unmoved cars. This was how Blaine liked the city best; it looked so clean and new.<p>

Suddenly, something cold and wet connected with the back of Blaine's neck. He turned around to find Shane standing behind him with an attempt at a look of innocence on his face. Blaine immediately began to form a snowball while simultaneously trying to avoid more coming from Shane. James let Blaine join in the fight before stepping between the two boys and saying, "Now boys, don't kill each other before dinner. Your parents are expecting you both to arrive in one piece."

The two boys looked up sheepishly at their grandfather before dropping their unused ammunition. James hailed a taxi from the street corner and the three entered the cab. Then they headed back to the apartment to freshen up before what was sure to be a stressful family evening.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Shane sat on the bed, listening to the adults' raised voices on the other side of the door.<p>

"Honey, it was just a show," Marlene was saying to her husband.

Bart would have none of this. He was angrily pacing up and down the hallway. "I don't want him encouraging this sort of…abnormal behavior in our sons!" Bart exclaimed, as if his father-in-law wasn't even there.

"Abnormal behavior?" James asked, barely concealing the disgust.

"Shane's dancing, Blaine's singing…I just don't want my sons turning soft. Blaine's a well built boy, he should be playing football, not flailing about on a stage!"

"Maybe if you watched and listened to your sons, you'd realize that they don't want to play football. Shane is a phenomenal dancer. And Blaine is a fantastic singer! They just want their father to appreciate them for who they are!"

"My sons are not…If people see them…might get the wrong impression…" Bart faltered angrily.

"Oh? And what's the wrong impression? That their father isn't proud of them?" James bit back.

"No! I don't want anyone thinking I've raised a couple of fags!" Bart spat out.

"What's so wrong with that?" James was livid now. Sometimes, he wondered why his daughter stayed married to this man.

"It's unnatural, and I'm not hearing any more of this. You cannot lecture me on how to raise my children. They're my sons!"

"And they're my grandsons!"

"This discussion is over!" Bart stormed to the room that he and Marlene were sharing and slammed the door.

Marlene had been standing silently behind her husband the entire time. Now, she turned to her father, clearly tired of hearing this fight. "Dad, give it a rest, please? He just wants what's best for the boys…"

"You don't really believe that, do you?" James asked. "He only wants what he thinks are the perfect sons."

"Dad, _please_."

"No, Marlene. They're your sons, too. Do you think they should be allowed to sing and dance and do whatever the hell else they want?"

"I – I guess," she responded unsurely.

"Then tell him that! They're just as much your kids as they are his."

"Please, dad, not tonight. Not anymore."

Silence, then: "All right then. Goodnight honey."

"Night dad."

* * *

><p>The two boys inside the bedroom stared at each other. "Do you think dad really is trying to keep us from being…gay?" Blaine asked his younger brother.<p>

"Sounds like it," Shane said without thinking. He looked up and saw the fear in his brother's eyes, and hastily continued, "But I'm sure he doesn't mean it," but without much real conviction.

Bothe brothers were silent for a moment. "You know what?" Blaine finally said. "I don't care. I mean, obviously I do care a little, but if he doesn't accept me for me, then why should I care?"

Shane made a noncommittal jerk of the head. "Um, Blaine? Can I ask you something? Something personal?"

"What?" Blaine asked, intrigued. Shane sounded serious for once. He wasn't grinning in his goofy way, and he seemed almost nervous to open his mouth and continue speaking.

"How did you…how'd you _know_?"

"That I'm gay?"

Shane nodded.

Blaine took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He thought about his response for a while before actually speaking. "I just knew, you know? Like, one day I was hanging out with a group of guys, and they were talking about sports and scool and girls and stuff, and I just remembered staring at this one guy and thinking, 'Wow, his eyes are really nice. He's actually kinda hot.' I started freaking out a little, because, you know, I wasn't sure what happened or anything. And then I started thinking about what it would be like to kiss a guy…and I realized that I had absolutely zero interest in girls. At all."

Shane never looked at his brother during the entire story. In fact, he never looked up from a spot on the carpet near the door.

"Shane?" Blaine asked, waving his hand in front of his brother's eyes.

"Huh?" the younger brother asked, as if Blaine had just jolted him from a deep sleep.

"Were you listening to anything I said just now?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just…thinking."

"About what dad said? Is that why you asked me that?"

Shane nodded distantly.

"Don't listen to him, okay? You're a great dancer. And you love it. Why should it matter that more girls dance than guys?"

"But it does…to dad."

"That's never stopped you before."

"It's different now."

"How?"

The younger brother never responded, so Blaine tried again. "It's just like the show. Like _Billy Elliott_. His dad didn't want him to dance, and he certainly didn't support it at first, but eventually he came around."

Shane smiled weakly. "Thanks, Blaine." He began to settle into bed, so Blaine took this as a cue that the conversation had ended.

Shane laid back against the pillows, thoughts a whirl in his mind. He didn't know what was happening to him. Usually, he was so sure of everything. Perhaps not as calm and self-assured as Blaine, but he usually knew what he wanted. But now…his entire life seemed to be a big jumble. And it didn't help that his thoughts kept straying to one person…


	9. Chapter 9

Blaine awoke at 10 am again, still feeling that it was much too early, but thankfully his exciting and exhaustive day yesterday had helped to combat his jet lag. When he padded into the kitchen, he found his parents and grandfather appearing much the same as they had the previous morning, but there was a palpable tenseness in the air.

He caught his mother's eye and asked, "Breakfast?"

She laughed lightly, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sorry, honey, we haven't gotten anything yet. There's always cereal in the cupboard."

Blaine wrinkled his nose, the thought of something. "Grandpa, want to go on a walk with me? We can get breakfast, too."

"Sure, kiddo. Should I wake Shane up?"

"No, let him sleep. He probably won't emerge for another couple of hours," Blaine said, ever impressed by his brother's ability to sleep through practically anything.

"Get dressed, grab your coat and we can get out of here," James offered.

Blaine went back into his room, careful not to make too much noise and accidentally wake Shane. He once again pulled out the same pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt. Pulling his hat back over his crazy hair and feeling distinctly Holden Caulfield-ish, Blaine walked back into the living room and joined his grandfather.

They walked down the hall to the elevator in silence. Once they were inside, though, Blaine turned to his grandfather and said, "Thanks."

"For?" James asked.

"Last night. Shane and I…we heard you and dad."

James just gave his grandson a warm, knowing smile.

The two walked to a Starbucks on the corner of the street. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded since it was the Sunday right before Christmas. Blaine ordered a blueberry muffin and an apple cider while his grandfather simply got a coffee. The two walked around a bit, and ended up on a bench in central park.

After spending a few minutes talking about school (a topic that Blaine tried to avoid at all costs), the show yesterday, and other fluff topics, Blaine finally turned to James.

"Grandpa, can I tell you something?"

"Of course you can, Blaine. You can tell me anything?"

"But this – you can't tell anyone. Especially dad. No one knows, except Shane." Blaine decided to leave out the entire population of his high school since that really wasn't the issue at the moment.

"Ah," James replied knowingly. "A sensitive issue, perhaps? No, your father certainly isn't very good at dealing with those sorts of things."

Blaine hesitated, but decided that it was okay. After what he'd heard his grandfather say last night, he knew it wouldn't be any sort of issue to him.

"Grandpa…I don't really know how to tell you." Blaine was looking down at the ground, playing with the rim of his empty cup. He felt a warm hand on his back and looked into his grandfather's loving eyes. Something in them said that he knew, but Blaine had to say it out loud. He'd been dying to for ages. "I'm…gay."

James pulled Blaine into a deep hug. "I know," he whispered.

Blaine looked at him in surprise for a moment, trying to absorb what his grandfather had said and the fact that he was still smiling.

Blaine was suddenly happier than he had been in a long time. He felt a few tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes, and tried to stop them.

"Thanks," he said.

"For what?" James asked.

"For talking to dad last night, for this, for not telling."

"You're my grandson. I'll love you no matter what. And for the record, this doesn't change a single thing about you. You are still the same wonderful boy that you always have been."

Blaine was speechless. He simply leaned in toward his grandfather again, so happy that some of the immense weight he had been carrying around for months was lifted. It was the same way he'd felt over the summer when he'd let it slip to Jeremy and Andy – relieved to not have to hide this anymore. But now it was mixed with relief that this time coming out had actually gone well.

When the two arrived back at the apartment, Blaine went straight to the bedroom he shared with Shane. The younger boy was still sleeping soundly, but this time Blaine made no attempt to not wake him. He pulled out his phone and furiously began texting Micah and Erin.

_I just came out to my grandpa…he was cool with it and said he knew. Christmas miracle? I'm so happy right now _:)_ – B _

Blaine barely had to wait for a response. Obviously both of his friends also kept their phones near them when they slept and heard them go off. When they'd read the message, they must have responded immediately.

_Congrats! Im so glad he understands! – M _

_Im so happy for you, thanks! Tell us everything when you get back. – E _

Under ordinary circumstances, Blaine would have been a little confused by part of Erin's response, but right now, his brain was too full to think clearly now. Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he picked up his pillow and thumped it down on Shane's head. The younger boy thickly swatted a hand and rolled over, so Blaine repeated the hit until Shane was fully awake.

"What the hell, Blaine? I was sleeping!"

"I just came out."

Shane stopped all his grumbling and stared in shock at his brother.

"…to grandpa, but it still counts!"

"Wow, uh…congrats! I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say here. I'm assuming from your enthusiasm that it went well?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, brimming with more happiness than he's felt in months. "He was fine with it and said…he said that he loves me no matter what and this doesn't change anything."

"Too bad dad doesn't seem to feel the same way," Shane muttered darkly. Upon seeing his brother's face fall, he quickly added, "But that doesn't mean he won't come around…"

"Oh, come on, you didn't believe me when I said that last night, what makes you think it'll work on me now?"

"Hope?"

"Yeah."

"Any breakfast out there?"

"Just dry cereal."

The younger brother groaned, and fell back on his pillow. "I'll just wait for lunch."

* * *

><p>The next few days passed in a blur. The boys were allowed to wander around the city on their own. Soon, it was Christmas Eve day. Blaine and Shane had shut themselves in their room to finish wrapping presents. They weren't allowed out into the rest of the apartment until their parents finished setting up the Christmas tree. Although they had long ago come clean about Santa, Marlene still liked giving the boys a picture perfect Christmas and keeping the illusion alive.<p>

In a few hours, the entire family would be donning their winter best and heading off to the Christmas Eve midnight mass. James went to church every week, and had raised Marlene that way, but the Anderson family had become "C and E Catholics" – only going to church on Christmas and Easter, and _very _occasionally in between.

Blaine felt more uncomfortable about the prospect of going to church since he'd come out. He gone to Sunday School for a while when he was younger, and believed that there was a God, but he didn't believe that there could be a God that could hate anyone. He hated that people could preach acceptance of all, except gays.

Still, Blaine pulled out the one suit he'd brought with him and put it on. He was pretty uncomfortable in suits, they made him feel cooped up and like he was pretending to be something else. He walked out into the hallway and ran into his mother.

"Oh, Blaine, why don't you put on the tie I packed for you? You'd look so handsome in that."

Blaine rolled his eyes and went back into the room. He reached into his suitcase and pulled out the plain white tie. Blaine sighed as he walked over to the bathroom mirror to look at his reflection.

He felt like he was looking at someone else, someone who was all together and knew who he was. He'd tried to tame down his curls with some styling gel, and was wearing a well cut black suit over a black oxford with white lines. He fussed around with his tie for a few minutes before finally giving up and going back into the room.

Shane gave his older brother a look and laughed. "That's a good look for you, Blaine. I'm sure mom will really appreciate the shoes."

Blaine grinned sheepishly as he shuffled his converse clad feet. "You're one to talk," he said to his half dressed brother. Shane was in an even messier state than Blaine. His shirt wasn't tucked in, his jacket wasn't buttoned, and his tie was currently tied around his head.

"But, I have the right shoes," Shane said, lifting one leg impossibly high to show off both his black leather dress shoes and his amazing finesse as a dancer.

Blaine just pushed his brother lightly, who proceeded to fall over backwards onto the bed. "Whatever, little bro. I'll just ask grandpa for some help. You better get fixed up or mom will flip out on you too."

Blaine once again exited his room in search of his grandfather. He found him sitting on the living room couch, already dressed, and waiting for the rest of the family.

"Hey, grandpa, could you give me a hand with this?" Blaine asked, holding up his tie.

James laughed. "Sure, come over here."

Blaine smiled gratefully and stood patiently in front of his grandfather as the older man took the ends of the tie and began to tie it nicely for the boy.

Bart came from his bedroom and saw as James began to assist his son. "Blaine, every real man should be able to tie his own tie," Bart said, with an accusing glance at his father-in-law.

Blaine shrank back from his grandfather's kind hands, and looked down to the ground. "Sorry, dad," he said, not really sure what he was apologizing for, but nonetheless feeling once again as if his father would never understand him. He had practically just stated that Blaine wasn't a real man.

"Why don't you try it on your own this time?" Bart told Blaine.

"I already did," he mumbled.

"He asked for my help, Bart. If no one shows him how, how will he ever learn?" James said angrily.

"Are you saying that I'm not raising my own correctly?" Bart spat back.

Suddenly, Blaine was sure that this conversation was no longer about his inability to tie a tie. It was about Bart's reluctance to look beyond his small window of understanding. James was accusing him of weakness, of not being a real man.

Blaine slowly backed out of the room, and back towards the bedroom, where he ran into Shane.

"Ouch, Blaine, that was my foot you just crushed!" the younger brother exclaimed.

"Shh! Dad and grandpa are fighting…again. But I think it's about me in a really distant way."

"What does that even mean?"

"It means we should stay in the room until it's all quiet out there and be all dressed and tied when we come back out."

* * *

><p>The Anderson family crowded in front of the Christmas tree that sat in the corner of the small living room. Blaine, Shane, and Bart were all looking dapper in their suits, while Marlene wore a deep red blouse, black skirt, and low boots. James stood in front of them, camera in hand, and was trying to center the image of a happy family. The instant the camera flashed, every smile fell. Shane and Blaine simply looked nervous, Bart looked angry, and Marlene was frowning in disapproval at the tension between her father and husband.<p>

"Well, now that that's taken care of, why don't we have some cookies and hot chocolate before bed?" James suggested, voice dripping with false enthusiasm.

The family had just arrived home from church, and was continuing on with the Christmas traditions before heading off to bed. James and Bart had never gotten along, but there had never before been so much anger and resentment mixed in with the holiday spirit and false joy.

The two boys sat awkwardly in the middle of the couch, quickly scarfing down the cookies, and taking too big gulps of hot chocolate. After a few moments' silence, Marlene clapped her hands together and said, "Well, should we read the book?"

The boys rolled their eyes and groaned. "Mom, don't you think we're getting a little old for this?" Blaine asked.

"Nonsense, it's Christmas. No one is too old for Christmas."

She got up and went into her bedroom. When she emerged a few seconds later, she was carrying an old and beaten up copy of _The Night Before Christmas_.

Despite their protests, both boys were actually looking forward to this. It was always the moment that Blaine felt closest to his family. He shifted away from his brother so that Marlene could take the middle seat of the couch. She opened the book, and began to read. "'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house…"

* * *

><p>Blaine was awakened the next morning by a pillow heavily thumping his head. He groaned, turned over, and saw his brother above him, grinning. Upon seeing Blaine's what-the-hell? look, Shane's grin spread wider and he said, "Payback."<p>

Blaine was always astonished how, despite his brother's affinity for sleeping in as late as humanly possibly, Shane managed to awaken at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. _Probably all the extra sugar running through his veins_, Blaine thought before pulling himself out of bed.

Neither Shane nor Blaine bothered to change out of their pajamas. Blaine, however, did pause to pull out his phone and text Erin and Micah. The he followed his bounding brother out of the room and into their parents' bedroom. Invariably, Shane was always transformed into an overeager four-year-old every Christmas. He barged into the room, and jumped onto the bed. If Marlene and Bart weren't used to this practice by now, they probably would have been scared out of their wits, however, they'd had to deal with Shane's energy for fourteen years now and were well used to it.

"Is it morning already?" asked Bart good naturedly, all the aggression of last night forgotten.

"Why don't you two go and wake your grandfather while your father and I get ready?" Marlene suggested tiredly.

Shane glared at his parents and said, "Five minutes" before running to his grandfather's room.

Blaine laughed and followed the younger boy.

James was already awake when the two boys reached his doorway. "You think I could sleep through you two?" he asked jovially. "You sound like a herd of elephants."

"Come on then!" Shane said, running out to the kitchen to prepare a plate of cookies and hot chocolate.

"Blaine, hold on a second," James said as Blaine turned toward the door. "I know your dad is a rather…traditional man. And you know as well as anyone that he isn't really my favorite person. But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Don't listen to everything he says about gays. It isn't what he thinks about you."

"Not _yet_," Blaine said, revealing his true worries to his grandfather.

"Don't even think that way. He loves you and you're his son. Now let's go help Shane in the kitchen before he manages to blow the place up."

* * *

><p>An hour later, the family had unwrapped almost half of the presents under the tree and finished all the cookies, cocoa and coffee. Blaine and Shane were sitting in piles of brightly colored wrapping paper while surrounded by piles of clothes, CDs, and other gifts. Blaine now picked up a thin box and card wrapped in reindeer paper and handed them to Shane. "From me," he said.<p>

Shane began ripping the paper to reveal a shoebox. He opened the lid and gasped. "Thanks!" he managed to say before ripping off his socks and slipping the new jazz shoes onto his feet.

"I'd noticed that your old ones were getting a bit worn out," Blaine explained, grinning widely. "Remember to open the card."

Shane stood up and performed a few dance moves. Bart stiffened a bit, but didn't say anything, unwilling to ruin the mood.

After he sat back down, Shane pulled the card out of the envelope and opened it with another gasp. "How…how did you get these?" Shane asked.

"I've had them for a few months," Blaine told his brother, clearly excited that his gift had gone over so well. He had given his brother a pair of tickets to see New Motion, his favorite dance troupe, at their Los Angeles performance in March.

"Maybe you can take Maggie," Blaine suggested.

"Thanks so much!" Shane cried, jumping at his brother. "My turn now!" He picked up two boxes and handed them to his brother.

Blaine first opened the smaller one. On top of the gift, there was a note that said, "Better not let dad see this too closely!" It was a leather necklace with small rainbow colored beads. Blaine smiled at his brother.

"What is it?" Marlene asked.

"Oh, um, it's just a necklace," Blaine said quickly before turning to the other box. He eagerly ripped off the paper to expose three CDs: soundtracks to _The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, _and _Hercules_.

"Wow!"

"I knew you'd like them," Shane said.

Bart cleared his throat. "I think it's my turn now," he said, picking up a small package by his side and handing it to Blaine.

The boy took the package and carefully tore the paper off. Inside was a sleek black Rolex watch.

"Wow, dad, this is amazing," Blaine said as he took it out of the box and slipped it onto his wrist. He looked down at the watch face to try to adjust the time. It was almost completely blank, except for four small silver marks where the 12, three, six, and nine were on most watches. His face fell slightly, but he managed to pull it back into a smile before anyone noticed. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Marlene, James, and Bart cleaned up the living room while Shane and Blaine took their gifts back to their room. Blaine had <em>Lion King<em> playing softly in the background while packing away his loot. Shane was stretching on the other side of the room, new jazz shoes on his feet. He put his earbuds in and began a dance warm up. Blaine glanced over at his brother. He looked so serene and in his element when he was dancing.

Blaine pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his new corduroys and dialed Micah's number. His friend answered on the third ring.

"Hey Blaine! Merry Christmas, man," Micah said.

"Thanks, you too!"

"How's New York?"

"It's been alright. My dad and grandpa are constantly fighting."

"About you?"

Blaine could hear the worry in the other boy's voice. "Not exactly," he said. "My dad's just really against gays, and my grandpa isn't. They kinda just clash over anything and everything."

"But you came out to your grandpa?"

"Yeah," Blaine smiled widely as he thought about it.

"That's amazing. I really wish I could come out to my parents or anyone in my family, but no one's really that open minded. My mom's sister is a religious freak actually. Have you talked to Erin yet?"

"Not yet."

"You should call her," Micah urged.

"If you don't want to talk to me, you can just say so…"

"No, seriously. Call Erin."

"Okay…" Blaine said, unsure of what he heard in Micah's tone.

"Bye!"

"Yeah. See you in a couple of days!"

Blaine set down his phone and stared at it for a moment before dialing Erin's number.

"Hello?" a breathless voice answered.

"Erin? It's Blaine."

"Blaine? Merry Christmas!" she replied.

"I just talked to Micah…he told me to call you?"

"Oh, yeah. I saw him yesterday, and…guess what?"

Blaine was silent, so Erin continued. "My sister came home and brought her boyfriend with her, and my parents were really pissed at her, and I just thought 'What the hell?' so I just went up to my mom, and I said, 'I've been waiting ages to tell you this. I'm lesbian.' She just stood there, all shocked and quiet, and then she just hugged me. I don't think she's totally used to it yet, but she's okay!"

"Oh my God, Erin, that's amazing! I can't believe you did that!"

"Yeah, it still feels unreal. Like I've been hiding it for so long that I don't know how to not hide it…"

"But you'll still be my girlfriend for my dad, right? Because I just told him and he was really happy."

"Of course, _honey_. I just can't stop smiling!"

* * *

><p>The Andersons never stayed in New York for New Years. It was just too crowded and crazy. Instead, they left early in the morning on December 26th. Blaine gave his grandfather a tight hug on the sidewalk outside of the apartment building. "Thanks so much for everything, grandpa," Blaine said. "You have no idea how…good it feels for me to know that you're here for me."<p>

James smiled back at his grandson. "If you ever need anything, just call me. I love you, kid."

"Love you too, grandpa."

* * *

><p>The plane ride back was, thankfully, not nearly as eventful or tense as the flight to New York. Blaine was still seated next to his father, but Bart did not even try to watch the movie which was, incidentally, a <em>Harry Potter <em>movie.

When they finally arrived at their home, Blaine was completely exhausted from the day of travel. He went up to his bedroom and began unpacking, thinking about his plans for the next few days with his friends. Blaine smiled as he pulled out the gifts he had bought for them in New York and set them on top of his dresser.


	10. Chapter 10

_I haven't done any sort of author's note before, and this may be my only one. I just wanted to start by saying thank you all so much! I was worried that people might not agree with my vision of Stanton High School, but my story has gotten great reception! (Of course, all the credit goes to the amazingly talented CP Coulter who came up with these characters. I simply put my own spin on them.)_

_Also, updates will take longer from now on. I had the first few chapters written for a while before I published the story, but now that I've used everything I've written so far and since I'm back in school, I (unfortunately) can't spend as much time writing. _

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>When Blaine woke the next morning, he was surprised to see that it was still dark outside. He looked over at his clock. It read 5:49. Confused, Blaine shook his head and pulled out his phone. It corroborated what his clock said. The he looked out the window and remembered that he was back in California. <em>Damn jet lag<em>, he though bitterly as he tried to fall back to sleep for a few hours. Later in the day, he was going to meet Erin and Micah at Erin's house. It would be his first time at another friend's house in a while. He was feeling oddly nervous.

Finally, after an hour of lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, Blaine decided that he should just get up. He walked over to the guitar on the other side of the room and started gently strumming, not really playing any specific song, just simply trying to play his emotions. Blaine began to hum along as his playing became stronger, more definite.

Behind him, the bedroom door opened and Shane walked in and sat on the bed. Blaine took no notice of his younger brother, too immersed in his music.

The music began to trail off, and Shane quietly applauded his brother. Blaine turned around, shocked to find someone else in the room with him.

"What are you doing here? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" he hissed at his brother.

"Sorry, I couldn't sleep…" Blaine gave him a dubious look, and Shane laughed. "I know, I know, it's weird for me to have trouble _staying _asleep, but it happens occasionally. I heard you playing and I came in to listen. Sorry," he said again.

"It's okay…" said Blaine, still glaring at his brother, although a grin was beginning to spread across his face.

"You can't sleep either?" Shane asked, glad that his brother wasn't kicking him out.

"Jet lag," Blaine answered simply.

Shane nodded and the two brothers sat in an awkward silence.

"So…" Blaine said, trying to fill the silence. Shane laughed lightly at him. "Are you going to take Maggie to see New Motion? What's going on with you two anyway?"

Shane exhaled and rolled his eyes. "Really, she's not my girlfriend. She's practically my sister. It'd just be gross to go out with her. And anyway, I don't like her like that. But I'll probably take her. As _friends_," Shane emphasized the last part since Blaine was just rolling his eyes at his brother.

"Sure, little brother," Blaine said.

"Well, what about you? Do you have a _boyfriend _yet?"

"Shh, Shane! Don't let dad hear you! And no, considering that I am one of two gay guys at school, my options are somewhat limited. Micah is the only other one, and he's my friend…" Blaine trailed off when he saw the triumphant look on his brother's face. "Just like Maggie's your friend, okay I get it."

"So Micah and Erin are the only other out kids at your school?" Shane asked carefully.

"Yeah."

"Does Micah have a boyfriend? …or Erin? A girlfriend for her, obviously?"

"No," Blaine said, raising his eyebrows at his brother as if to ask "why do you suddenly care about my friends' relationship statuses?"

"Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation," Shane said defensively, holding up his hands as if surrendering.

"Yeah, well, it's late enough that it won't be too weird that we're awake and I'm starving. Let's go downstairs."

* * *

><p>After breakfast, Shane went up to his room and logged onto Facebook. No one was online. <em>Well, duh. It's like 7:30 am<em>. He sat back against his bedroom wall, the one he shared with Blaine, and thought about what his brother had told him.

"_I just knew, you know? Like, one day I was hanging out with a group of guys, and they were talking about girls, and I just remembered thinking, 'Wow, his eyes are really nice. He's actually kinda __hot.' I started freaking out a little, because, you know, I wasn't sure what happened or anything. And then I started thinking about what it would be like to kiss a guy…and I realized that I had absolutely zero interest in girls. At all."_

"That doesn't mean anything," Shane said out loud, as if trying to convince himself. He didn't know what anything was before. He'd always just assumed he was straight, he still thought girls were…attractive. But there was something about that one friend of Blaine's…Micah. Thinking about the older boy's eyes made Shane's IQ drop to the floor.

Shane shook his head. No, there must be something else…

* * *

><p>Blaine sat on the other side of the wall and wrapped the presents he'd bought for his friends. Even though they'd known each for a while, he still didn't know them well enough to be positive that he'd gotten them the perfect gifts. Sure Micah liked to read, so Blaine had bought him a few books. But, what type of books did Micah like? Or, had he already read these?<p>

And Erin. She was a runner, but Blaine knew to not even try to get her equipment, like he'd gotten the jazz shoes for Shane. The only reason why he got them for Shane was because he lived with Shane and knew exactly what he used. But runners were even more freakish about their shoes than dancers. So Blaine had gotten Erin a silver necklace with a tiny pair of silver sneakers hanging off of the chain. He'd also jokingly bought a t-shirt that said "I Love My Boyfriend." Blaine smiled when he looked down at the sparkly pink shirt. He couldn't think of anything less Erin-y. It was perfect.

Blaine carefully placed the gifts in his backpack and went back downstairs.

"Mom! Dad! I'm going!" he called as he opened the garage door.

"Where are you off to, son?" Bart asked from behind a newspaper in the living room.

"Uh, Erin's house…"

"Oh?" Bart gave Blaine a knowing look.

Blaine remembered what he'd told his father, and grinned sheepishly, trying to blush and look embarrassed. "It's not like that, dad. She, Micah, and I are just hanging out, exchanging gifts and stuff," he said.

"Okay, son. Be home before dark."

* * *

><p>"Blaine!"<p>

Blaine's head snapped up at the shrill scream coming from the front window of Erin's house. Erin came barreling out of the front door and practically ran Blaine over. Thankfully, he had had the good sense to get off his bike when he heard Erin's first screech. As she ran up to him and embraced him, Blaine gave the older girl a questioning look. She laughed and pulled away.

"Sorry, I know this is a little…different for me," she began. "But I'm just so freaking happy right now! Like, you have no idea how good I feel!"

Blaine just laughed with her and hugged her back. "Can I put my bike in your garage?"

"Really? That's _all _you have to say?" Erin said in feigned offense.

"Of course not. I'm so happy for you. Really."

Erin could sense the tiniest bit of jealousy in Blaine's tone despite his best efforts to keep it out, so she stopped talking and helped him with his bike.

"Micah isn't here yet, but he should be here soon," Erin said as she led Blaine into her house. "I'll give you the grand tour now…although it's not quite as 'grand' as yours."

Blaine shifted uncomfortably at this remark, as he always did whenever people brought up the fact that his family was a good deal wealthier than most families in the area.

Erin had just finished showing Blaine the first floor when the doorbell rang. She sprinted off to the door, flung it open, and smothered Micah. The boy simply let her hang onto him, looking slightly stunned. When Erin let go, the stunned expression still covered Micah's face.

"Don't worry," Blaine said, laughing slightly at his friend's discomfort and uncertainty. "She did the same to me. She's just really excited."

"It's just nice to see people who I'm not related to," Erin explained.

"Right," Blaine said. "Speaking of, where is everyone? I thought you had a full house?"

"Thankfully, everyone's out doing something. My sister and her boyfriend are doing who knows what, and my parents are taking my grandparents out for the day."

"So," Micah began, "do you guys want to exchange presents now or…?"

"Sure!" both Erin and Blaine responded at the same time.

Erin led the two boys upstairs to her bedroom. It was smaller than Blaine's room, but not a terribly small room. Her decorations were mostly green and blue colored, and she had some pillows on the floor where the three settled down. Blaine slipped off his backpack and pulled out his packages, Micah set his on the floor, and Erin crawled across the floor and pulled hers out from under the bed.

"Who first?" Micah asked.

"How about Erin, it's her house," Blaine suggested.

"Okay," Erin replied, smiling. She picked up a package and handed it to Micah. "Open it!" she urged.

Micah tore back the wrapping paper to reveal two books. One was an early edition copy of _The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn_. The other was a glossy new book: _Twilight_. Micah gave the second book a disgusted look before looking up at Erin. She was practically rolling on the ground with laughter.

"I saw it at the bookstore and I couldn't resist. You've never actually read it, have you?"

"No, but it doesn't sound like it'd be any good," he said darkly.

Erin gasped over dramatically. "You mean I've read a book that the great Micah hasn't read? What is the world coming to?"

"Come on," Blaine added, "you can't knock it 'till you've read it."

Micah just rolled his eyes at both of them. "Well, thank you for _this_," he said, holding up _Huck Finn_. Blaine and Erin could both tell that he was just itching to open it up and begin reading it right away, but he was able to contain that desire for the time being.

"Now Blaine," Erin said, handing him a bag.

Blaine pulled a soft blue cashmere sweater out of the bag. "Wow," he said quietly. "Thanks, Erin. This is great!"

"Good," she said. "I just hope it fits. You're so tiny!"

"I am _not!_ You're basically the same height as me."

"Yeah, but I'm a girl. Micah's a head taller than you, and even your _little _brother is taller than you," she teased.

"Oh, shut up!" Blaine said, throwing the bag at her head.

"Well, not to break up this shameless flirting," Micah interjected, clearing his throat, "but I think it's my turn now." He picked up a package by his feet and threw it at Erin.

She opened it up and a Brita filter water bottle, ski band, and running jacket tumbled out. "Awesome!" she exclaimed, hugging the boy.

Blaine slowly unwrapped his package and a pair of blue and orange headphones rolled out. "Wow, these are really cool!" he said fervently to his friend. Blaine pulled his iPod out of his backpack and plugged the headphones into it. Micah smiled, clearly thrilled that his gifts had gone over so well.

"Last but not least," Blaine said, handing his packages to his friends.

Micah opened his first, eyes widening at the sight of the three books: _Journey to the Center of the Earth, Into Thin Air, _and _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows._

"A mix of everything," Blaine explained.

"Just had to throw _Harry Potter _in there, didn't you?" Micah said.

"Hey, they're really good books. _And _they're well-written," Blaine said, aiming the last remark at Erin.

"But mine was a joke," Erin pointed out.

"Obviously," Micah said.

"Just open your present already," Blaine said to Erin.

She began with the smaller box and gasped slightly when she saw the silver necklace. "It's beautiful," she said quietly.

"I'm glad you like it," Blaine said. He was already tensing up, ready to run once Erin saw the next gift. He knew the violence that she was capable of.

She carefully pulled back the paper on the t-shirt. The look that Erin gave the shirt was almost the same as the one Micah bestowed upon _Twilight_.

Very calmly, Erin set the shirt on the ground. She slowly stood up and towered over Blaine. "Anderson, you better hope that I kill you with the first kick because otherwise this will be very painful."

"Hey, I'm used to this," Blaine said. "Unfortunately."

Erin rolled her eyes, picked up a pillow, and hit Blaine repeatedly over the head with it. He fell to his side with laughter and called, "Okay, okay, I give up. You win."

* * *

><p>"So…what's it like now?" Blaine asked Erin. It was a few hours later, and the three were still in Erin's room, talking about coming out.<p>

"Well, my mom refused to tell my grandparents, but she seems…cool with it. I mean, it'll take some getting used to for her and dad, but neither of them are, like, throwing me out of the house or anything. I just think that they're not really sure what to do. Like, they're wondering if this means that I can't have sleepovers with girls anymore, and then hanging out with boys is okay now because I'm not into them…they're just so used to all the rules that they had to enforce before because my sister was such a slut."

"That's mean," Micah said. "I'm sure she's just…"

"A whore," Erin finished. "It's true, though. She's a complete and total slut. And she can't hold her alcohol."

"What about you, Blaine?" Micah asked.

Blaine smiled. "Well, my dad was pretty pissed at my grandpa for taking me and Shane to see a Broadway show about dancing and stuff because he thought it'd encourage being gay or something. And my grandpa was just kinda like, 'What difference does it make?' So I decided I could tell him. And he said that he knew, and that I was still the same, and he loved me just as much as he always had."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Erin squealed.

"But your dad…?"

"Still as against it as ever. More so, if possible."

"I'm sorry, man," Micah said.

"Whatever," Blaine said.

Downstairs, a door opened and voices floated upstairs from the entrance.

"Oh crap," Erin said. "They're back."

"Who?" Micah asked.

"I think it's my parents."

"You should introduce us," Blaine said.

"Believe me, you're better off not knowing them. I love them with all my heart and they're apparently cool with me, but my grandparents are insane ultra Jews, and my parents can just be…parent-y."

"So what? We're your _friends_. Plus, we can't really avoid them unless we jump out the window," Blaine said.

"And we're _not actually_ going to do that," Micah added, seeing Erin's eyes flash when Blaine had suggested the window.

"Fine. Come on boys."

Erin led the two downstairs. "Mom, dad, Gram, Gramps?" The four adults who were standing in the front hall turned at the sound of Erin's voice. "These are my friends. Blaine and Micah. They came over to hang out for a while."

"Yeah, but we were just about to go…" Micah added.

Erin shot him a look that clearly said "_Don't _leave me alone with them!" Micah seemed oblivious to her glare, however, and held out a hand. Blaine followed suit.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Delaney, I'm Blaine," he said.

"Yes," Micah added. "I really wish we could stay longer, but we have to go. See you later, Erin!"

The two boys walked out of the front door, and laughed lightly once the door closed. "Is your mom coming to pick you up?" Blaine asked as he walked to his bike in the garage.

"Yeah, she should be here in a couple minutes. I actually did have to get out of there," Micah said.

"Well, I'll wait with you then," Blaine said.

"Do you have any New Years' plans?" Micah asked carefully.

"What? – no. Not unless you count sitting on the couch watching Disney movies while my parents are at an office cocktail party and my brother is at some party with his dance friends," Blaine responded somewhat bitterly.

"We should do something. All of us," Micah said.

Blaine grinned. "Yeah, you guys can come to my house, it'll be empty."

* * *

><p>Empty it was not. Shane had decided that he didn't really want to go to the party at his friend's house; instead, he invited some other people over. When Erin and Micah arrived, the house was already filled with loud music and over-excited dancers.<p>

"Sorry about this," Blaine said, indicating his brother's madness.

"It's okay," Micah said.

"It actually looks…fun," Erin added.

Blaine gave her a dubious look, and she just shrugged.

* * *

><p>Bart's liquor cabinet had been locked, and it stayed that way, but these kids didn't need alcohol to get drunk. Pop music blared in the background, and a few kids were downstairs playing Dance Dance Revolution. By ten o'clock that night, both Blaine's and Shane's groups had merged and begun a game of truth or dare.<p>

"Okay, okay!" one of Shane's friends called, "my turn! Shane: truth or dare?"

Shane grinned and said, "Dare."

"I dare you to…kiss Maggie."

Everyone in the circle whooped and catcalled. Blaine watched his brother crawl over to the blushing girl and hold his head in front of hers for a moment. She nodded ever so slightly, and then he brushed his lips against hers. The kiss soon became much more than just that. A few seconds later, the liplock had intensified. Once the two broke apart, they both had guilty smiles on their faces.

"Yeah, Shane! Get some!" Shane's friends jokingly called.

Blaine leaned over to his brother and whispered, "I thought you didn't like Maggie that way…"

"I don't," Shane responded quietly. "I just…you know, went with it?"

Maggie, meanwhile, was blushing profusely on the other side of the circle.

"Okay…" Shane began, trying to get everyone to stop the catcalls. "Jesse: truth or dare?"

* * *

><p>The game continued, but Blaine, Erin, and Micah left after a while and collapsed on his bed, laughing.<p>

"How much time left?" Micah asked.

"15 minutes," Blaine responded after taking a long look at his new watch. "I think…I can't really read this thing."

"Why wear it if it doesn't work?" Erin asked, glancing at Blaine's watch.

"No, it works fine," Blaine responded. "My dad just gave it to me for Christmas. It's just hard to read." Blaine held the face of his watch up for his friends to see.

Micah pulled out his phone to corroborate Blaine's reading. "Yep. 15 minutes," he said.

"Sweet," Erin said, falling back onto the bed again.

"What happens at midnight?" Blaine asked her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, what's so special about it?"

"Well, most people get a kiss at midnight..." Erin began. "But I hope you guys won't be offended when I say that I don't really want a kiss from either of you."

"No offense taken," Blaine said, while Micah said, "Ditto. Sorry, Blaine."

The three laughed and then turned on the TV in Blaine's room to Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Together, the three friends watched as the ball fell down, and they welcomed in 2009 together.

"Happy New Year!" they cried together, hugging each other and rolling around in Blaine's room.

"At the risk of sounding too gushy," Erin began once the pandemonium had ceased, "I would like to propose that we make a pact."

Blaine and Micah looked at her with raised eyebrows, but she continued speaking.

"We always have to stick together. At this point, we're all each other has. We stick together, and this year will be great. Just promise to have the best year you can." Erin held out her hand.

Blaine and Micah exchanged glances, but put their hands on top of Erin's. What she'd said _did _ sound nice. Sticking together to make sure that they...survived.


	11. Chapter 11

Blaine met Erin and Micah at the table in the back of the library, which had now become "their" spot.

"How is it," he began as he banged his backpack on the table, "that school hasn't even started yet and I'm already tired?"

"Maybe you should get to sleep at a decent hour," Erin suggested sweetly, "_instead _of texting us both until two in the morning and keeping us both awake!"

"Woah!" Blaine said, pushing his chair back and holding his hands up in surrender. "You didn't have to respond. I just...needed something to do."

"You could have read an actual book," Micah suggested unhelpfully.

"Have your read _Harry Potter _yet?"

"No," Micah responded sheepishly.

"Then, no, I can't read a 'real' book."

"Micah, please, for the sake of both our sanities, read the freaking book!" Erin pleaded. "I can't go another night with four hours of sleep! I have practice today." She laid her head on her history textbook and closed her eyes.

"Hey-" Micah responded defensively. "I've read most of the others. That counts for something, right?"

"As soon as you finish the books, you are coming to my house and we are watching the movies. They suck, but we can still marvel at Tom Felton's beautiful face," Blaine said to his friend. Micah was torn between exasperation and amusement, and finally decided to just make unintelligible sputtering noises at the shorter boy.

The bell rang, and Erin sat up slowly, glaring at Blaine. "I don't care if Micah never reads the books. If you keep me up that late again, I will personally assist the jocks in throwing you into the closet," she said before storming off to her first period.

"Remind me never to get on her bad side," Micah said as he patted a stunned Blaine on the shoulder.

Blaine simply stood frozen in place. "Hurry up, man. You don't want to be late for Strickland."

That seemed to shake Blaine out of his reverie. "Right," he said as he picked up his backpack. "I wonder what he has in store for me next."

* * *

><p>Blaine went through the lunch line on his own. He'd had to talk to his teacher after class, so Erin and Micah were probably already at the back steps. Blaine followed the students in front of him as he selected a mostly harmless looking hamburger, a plate of cooked carrots, a jello dessert, and a bottle of water. He walked up to the cashier and handed her his lunch money before entering the cafeteria. Somehow, it had gotten worse in his time spent away from it. There seemed to be more kids than usual, and they all seemed rowdier and more destructive.<p>

He took a deep breath and stepped into the cafeteria. Sometimes, walking between tables, instead of down the main aisle, was safer. Blaine did that now. He was about halfway through when a foot stuck out in front of him. He had no time to react; Blaine collided with the foot and fell onto his tray of food. The owner of the foot stood over Blaine and leaned down to grab the water bottle that was rolling away. The boy grinned.

"Hey fag. It's been a while."

Blaine glared up at the boy from his position on the floor, trying to put all the anger and resentment he possessed into one glare.

"You're looking a little messy, homo. I think you need a shower."

By now, the people sitting at the tables around the two boys had stopped eating and were instead staring at the pair.

The boy slowly unscrewed the cap of the water bottle. He tilted it, slowly, over Blaine's head until the water cascaded down, weighing down the younger boy's curls.

Blaine could hear the mocking laughter of his classmates around him. He stood up as best as he could, hoping that his backpack was still dry. Ignoring everyone around him, Blaine began to walk away, only to slip on some of the food and water on the ground. Another peal of laughter rose from the surrounding students as Blaine fought to regain his balance and walked the rest of the way outside.

* * *

><p>"Blaine – what happened?" Erin asked, rising immediately at the sight of her soggy friend.<p>

"Seriously, are you okay?" Micah asked, running over to Blaine.

Blaine simply nodded and shook his head, spraying water everywhere. He allowed Micah to lead him over to the stairs before pulling his backpack on his lap, seemingly intent on assessing the damage.

Erin caught Micah's eye, and the two held a silent conversation composed of a variety of worried glances. So far that day, Micah had been shoved into the trash cans in the hallway, Erin had been called a dyke in the middle of class while the teacher pretended not to hear, and now Blaine had been soaked in the middle of the cafeteria. The bullies were certainly intensifying their efforts.

Blaine exhaled a long sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God," he said, holding up a minimally dampened binder containing his English notes. "I honestly don't care about the rest of this, but Strickland is looking for any excuse to fail me."

Erin laughed weakly, glad that Blaine seemed to be fine. Micah, however, became very quiet and pensive. _This is just wrong_, he thought. _We shouldn't have to deal with this crap. We shouldn't be so used to it that something like this isn't a big deal_. Instead of bringing up the gigantic elephant in the room, Micah just grinned an cuffed his friend on his shoulder. "I don't know why Strickland doesn't like you. You probably work harder than every other kid in his class." The trio chuckled appreciatively at Micah's comment before settling back into their lunchtime routine.

Whenever anyone lost his or her lunch, the other two were always there to provide. Micah now offered Blaine half of his sandwich while Erin produced a granola bar from her backpack. "I'd offer you some of my water, but I have a feeling you're not really in the mood for it right now," she said carefully.

Blaine grinned weakly. "If I get too thirsty, I can always just suck on my hair," he said, before shaking his head again and spraying his friends.

* * *

><p>"You know, I've been thinking," Erin said.<p>

It was eight at night, and Blaine and Erin were talking on their phones. Blaine was sitting in his bedroom, absently fooling around with his guitar, while Erin was attempting to complete her Algebra II homework.

"About...?"

"Us. You really should just man up, grow a pair, and ask me out on a proper date," Erin said. Blaine could hear the smile in her voice. "You've been my boyfriend for over two weeks now, and you still haven't taken me out yet! Are you embarrassed by me or something?"

"How could I ever be embarrassed by you?" Blaine asked. "You're hot. For a chick, at least. It's just a little...weird, you know? My first date, and it's not even real. Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you, but I was hoping that my first date would be with a guy that I really liked..."

"And not your best friend, who also happens to be a girl?" Erin finished.

"Yeah."

"Well, it doesn't have to be your first date. It can just be you and me hanging out. It'll only be a date to your parents. Believe me, I'm not telling my parents, they'd be way too confused. First I tell them I'm a lesbian, then I'm going on a date with a boy? No way."

Blaine chuckled appreciatively. He thought about Erin's proposition for a minute. If he was straight, Erin was kind of perfect. Funny, chill, really pretty...

"All right then, Erin Delaney. Would you go out with me this Friday night?" Blaine asked.

"Hmm...let me check."

"Erin!"

"I'm just playing with you. Of course I'll go out with you."

"Great. It's a date."

"Yep."

Blaine hung up the phone and smiled to himself. Then he set down his guitar and went to find his father.

* * *

><p>"Um, dad?" Blaine said, hovering near the door to his father's office.<p>

"Yes son?"

"I was wondering, I mean, could you maybe – I asked Erin out," Blaine sputtered.

"Congratulations, son. You really like this girl, don't you?"

Blaine smiled and nodded heartily. "It's just, could you maybe drive me to her house on Friday night and then take us into town and pick us up when we're done? Since I'm the one who asked her out, I thought it would be more appropriate for me to do the picking up. And it probably wouldn't go over too well if I asked her to take her bike..."

"Of course, son," Bart said genially. "Where are you taking her?"

"Oh, um, I don't know yet. I hadn't thought about that part..."

"Well, you better get thinking."

Blaine went back upstairs, congratulating himself on a job well done. Shane met him in the hallway between their rooms. "So," the younger brother said. "You're 'going out' with Erin now?"

"Well, dad has been getting antsy about the fact that I haven't started dating yet when you supposedly have...By the way, how is Maggie these days?"

Shane shushed Blaine and herded the older boy into his room.

"Don't say that so loud!"

"Why? What's wrong? Did she think you were a bad kisser?" Blaine teased.

Shane's face had a pained expression on it. "If you really must know, no, she did not think I was a bad kisser. On the contrary..."

Blaine registered what his brother was implying, and he formed a gleeful smile.

Shane glared at his brother and continued. "It's just that I don't think I like...her that way. And I don't want to lose her as a friend or insult her or anything. What should I do, Blaine?"

"You're asking the wrong guy, little brother," Blaine said. "Now if you wanted advice on guys...I'd probably still be the wrong person to ask, but it'd be a little closer to my 'area of expertise'."

Shane laughed at his brother. "Better not let dad hear you talking like that..."

"Hey, he's totally off my case now that Erin and I are dating!"

Shane just glared at his brother. "Maybe you should ask mom for advice," Blaine suggested. "You know, get a girl's perspective."

Shane's glare intensified as he stormed out of the room in mock anger. Blaine just rolled his eyes and went back over to his abandoned guitar. He began strumming quietly again, humming silently, tunelessly.

* * *

><p>"So what's the plan?" Erin asked Blaine at lunch the next day. So far, all three had managed to navigate the halls, locker rooms, and cafeteria without major injury.<p>

"You sound like my father!" Blaine began, but upon seeing Erin's glare, he continued: "Well, my dad said he would drive, which is a miracle seeing as he makes me and Shane drive anywhere that is less than ten miles away. And sometimes even when it's further, we still have to bike..."

"Wow, he really loves you, huh?" Erin joked.

"Actually, he says that he wants us to be healthy and not take anything for granted. Or something like that. But back to the plan: he can drive us."

"That's all the plan you have so far? Some lousy boyfriend you are," Erin muttered, and Micah laughed at the two.

"Watch yourself, Blaine. _Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned_," he said.

"Well, we can go eat somewhere...and then we can see a movie?" Blaine said unsurely.

"Wow, you're really good at making plans," Erin said sarcastically.

"Well, what about you? What about _feminism_?" Blaine retorted.

"I think you're the one who asked me," Erin pointed out.

"And I'm already regretting it..." Blaine said, but only so that Micah could hear.

"Okay, let's start with dinner. Where and how are we paying?"

Blaine looked completely bewildered. Erin sighed and continued. "Where do you want to eat? What kind of food are you in the mood for? And are you paying or are we splitting?"

"Um, I can pay or we can split, whichever you want...and maybe Maggiano's?" Blaine suggested.

"Okay, that's some progress. How about movies?"

"What movies are out right now?"

"How the hell should I know? Aren't you the one who is interested in popular culture or whatever?" Erin was now starting to get annoyed at Blaine's ambivalence.

Blaine rolled his eyes and thought about the movies that he'd seen ads for. "Well, _The Curious Case of Benjamin Button_ is out. That looks interesting," he suggested.

"Okay. It's settled then. Maggiano's then _Benjamin Button_," Erin said. Then she added, under her breath, a disgruntled "men!"

Micah leaned over to Blaine and, with a slight smile, he asked, "Your interest in this movie had nothing to do with Brad Pitt, now does it?"

Blaine tried to look innocent. "Brad Pitt is in that? Really? I had _no _idea."

"Really?" Erin asked the two boys. "I thought I'd escaped the Brad Pitt worship when I stopped hanging around the track girls. I had to find the only two guys in the school who are also obsessed?"

"Your fault for hanging out with the only gay guys in the school," Micah said to her.

"Brad Pitt _is _quite attractive. You can't seriously admit that you don't notice how...sculpted his abs are?" Blaine asked.

"My God, you are worse than the girls on track!" Erin said jokingly.

"Come on, you can't tell me that you don't watch movies just to see like Eva Longoria or Jessica Alba or someone else?"

Erin turned faintly pinking, but was luckily saved by the bell, indicating the end of the lunch period. Ignoring Blaine's last question, she simply turned to him and said, "Friday."

* * *

><p>Blaine stood in front of the bathroom mirror, adjusting the collar on his shirt. He hadn't exactly been sure of how to dress for this...date? So, he was wearing a nice pair of jeans and an oxford. His curls were spiraling off in every direction despite his best efforts to keep them down. <em>Not like Erin really cares<em>, he thought. He walked back to his bedroom and checked his wallet to make sure he had enough cash for the evening. _Why am I so nervous? _He thought. _This isn't even a real date_. Regardless, Blaine's mouth dried out as he walked down the stairs to let his father know it was time to go.

"You look very dapper, Blaine," Marlene said to her son when he came down the stairs. "You father is waiting outside."

Blaine nodded at his mother and went outside to his father. "Hey dad!"

"What's Erin's address?" Bart asked as he and Blaine settled into the car.

Blaine gave him directions to Erin's house, and nervously walked to the door when they arrived. Erin opened it, and appeared before Blaine looking very pretty in a deep purple skirt, and a flowy white top. "Ready?" he asked her.

"For?"

"My dad."

Erin cracked a smile at Blaine and said, "So ready. Let's put on a show for your old man." And with that, Erin slipped her hand into Blaine's. He looked at her in surprise, and she just hissed "Just go with it!" at him.

"Nice to see you again, Erin," Bart said as Erin slid into the backseat of the car. Blaine followed her and shut the door.

"You too, Mr. Anderson. Thanks for driving us!"

"No problem. So, how is school going for you?"

Blaine tried to shoot a please-stop-you're-embarrassing-me look at his father in the rear view mirror, but Bart didn't seem to notice.

"It's going pretty well. Classes are harder than last year, but I think I know what I'm doing."

"That's good. What classes are you taking?"

Blaine quickly gave Erin an apologetic look, but she waved it off and turned back to Bart. "I'm taking English 10, obviously, algebra II, chemistry, history, Spanish, P.E., and art. But I'm really mostly focused on track. I'm on the varsity team."

"That's very good! I've been trying to talk Blaine into doing sports for years, but all he seems interested in is singing and theatre..." Bart scoffed at this.

"Dad! I like doing that stuff, seriously, can we please stop this interrogation?"

"Blaine, it's my job as your father to do this."

"It's okay," Erin whispered. "We're almost there anyway."

As Blaine and Erin stepped out of the car, Bart called out of the open window, "When should I come pick you two up?"

"I don't know, dad," Blaine said, annoyed. "I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay, have fun!"

* * *

><p>When Bart arrived at home, Marlene was waiting for him anxiously. This was Blaine's first date; she wanted to know all the details.<p>

"She's a very polite, sweet girl," Bart told his wife. "She seems to really like him; they were even holding hands!"

Shane scoffed slightly at this from where he was sitting in a chair on the other side of the living room.

"Shane?" Marlene asked.

"Oh, sorry. It's nothing."

"Are you upset at how we're making a bigger deal about Blaine and Erin than you and Maggie?"

"What? No, mom!"

"You should invite her over, have us meet her."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Shane burst out. "She's just a really good friend, okay?" He stormed from the room.

"Should we do something?" Marlene asked Bart worriedly.

"No, he's a teenager. Believe me, I was just like him once."

"All right. If you say so."

* * *

><p>Blaine and Erin's hands separated as soon as Bart was out of eyesight.<p>

"You hungry?" he asked her.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Let's go then..." Blaine wasn't sure why he felt so much more awkward around Erin right now. It's not like this was an actual date...

"What did you tell your parents you were doing that you had to get so dressed up?" Blaine asked as they walked toward the restaurant.

"I didn't. They didn't ask."

"Oh."

Blaine walked up to the podium where the waiters were stationed and asked for a table for two. He and Erin followed a chipper waitress to a table at the back of the restaurant and were handed menus.

"Would you like anything to drink?" she asked them.

"I'll have a lemonade," Erin said, smiling at the girl.

"Coke," Blaine said.

After she walked away, Blaine turned to Erin and said, "You're not going to start raving about how hot _this _waitress is now, are you?" jokingly.

"I wouldn't dare," she said, pretending to be offended. "I'm on a _date_."

The two chuckled, and their usual careless and easy air seemed to be restored.

The waitress came back with their drinks and took their orders. When they finished eating and the bill came, Erin offered to split it with Blaine.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's my fault that we have to do this...not that I don't love spending time with you, but if my dad wasn't so...close-minded, I wouldn't have to 'date' you."

"Seriously, Blaine, it's cool," Erin said, handing him fifteen dollars.

* * *

><p>They left the restaurant and walked down the street to the movie theatre. Blaine convinced Erin to let him buy both tickets for the movie, and they went into the theatre and chose seats in the middle.<p>

It was fairly empty, despite the fact that the movie was supposed to start in ten minutes. A few minutes after Blaine and Erin entered the theatre, a loud group of kids entered. Blaine was almost afraid to turn around, but he did so anyway, curiosity winning over his apprehension.

"Shit," Blaine mumbled, trying to sink down as low as possible in his chair.

"What?" Erin asked him, but then a single voice from the back of the theatre answered her question.

"Hey look! It's the fags!"

"What are you two trying to do? Pretending to be normal or something?"

"Don't sit too near them! Who knows what they'll do!"

Erin made to stand up and fight back, but Blaine just grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. "Not tonight, okay? Let's just let it go."

She gave Blaine a questioning look, so he elaborated: "If something happens, my dad will notice, and he'll ask questions...I just can't tell him. Yet. And I hate lying to him about absolutely _everything_."

"Fine," Erin said, settling back into her seat.

* * *

><p>But neither Blaine nor Erin could really get too comfortable in their seats. Their senses were on overdrive, trying to simply <em>sense <em>where the kids were. Once the lights dimmed and the movie began, Blaine figured that he had a pretty good idea as to where the were.

The movie had only been playing for a few minutes when Blaine felt something hit the back of his head. "Ouch!" he gasped.

"What is it?" Erin asked.

"I don't know, something -"

"Ouch!" Erin interrupted. "Me too!"

Blaine's scavenging hand finally located the source. "Gross," he said as he pulled a sticky milk dud out of his hair. Beside him, Erin had discovered the same thing.

"Really? This is just too much!" she whispered under her breath. At this point, the duo wasn't even paying attention to the movie. Blaine felt as another came in contact with his head, getting tangled in his crazy curls. Erin was able to put her hair in a ponytail so that she wouldn't have too much of an issue of them getting tangled.

Blaine sank down as far as he could in his chair, pulling Erin down with him. "Ignore them. They'll eventually get bored..."

"Or run out of food," Erin supplied. She looked up at the screen and recoiled. "Woah! What the hell is that?"

Blaine looked up at the screen, too, and saw that she was staring at a shriveled baby-thing. "It's like the Voldemort think in _Goblet of Fire_ before he gets his body back!" he whispered to his friend, earning a playful punch in the arm. One second later, a third missile landed on his head. He groaned slightly and stared at the screen.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, Blaine's prediction came true: the other kids had grown tired of tossing milk duds at him and Erin, and they were able to focus on the movie. The rest of the evening had been mercifully uneventful except for a brief moment when Erin feared that Blaine was going to cut off the circulation in her arm. He had begun gripping her arm when a young and attractive Brad Pitt came on screen, and hadn't let go until she had hit him over the head.<p>

* * *

><p>After the movie, Blaine pulled out his phone and texted his father, asking him to come pick the two up. As they walked toward the theatre door, Blaine found his path blocked by one of the boys from the group.<p>

"Did you get our gifts, fag?" he taunted.

Blaine tried to push past him, but the boy held out an arm and pushed Blaine back into the theatre.

"Just leave us alone, alright?" Blaine said, eyes on the ground.

"Scared?" the boy whispered menacingly, getting right into Blaine's face.

"What did he ever do to you?" Erin said, pushing forward.

"What, you're so much of a pussy that you can't stand up for yourself?" the boy asked Blaine, laughing harshly.

"Just leave us alone!" Blaine said, meeting the boy's eyes.

"Why?"

Blaine rolled his eyes, unable to think of a response. "Fuck you," he said quietly.

"I bet you'd love to, wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Erin asked. "Believe me, not every gay boy wants to do every guy he sees."

"Is there a problem here?" a deep voice asked from behind the boy.

"No problem at all, sir," the boy said, adopting an angelic expression. "My friend and I were just having a...conversation"

"Well, move alone, boys." the theatre manager said.

"You got lucky this time," the boy hissed under his breath to Blaine before he turned and left.

The manager bestowed a glare on Blaine before he and Erin departed the theatre.

* * *

><p>Erin and Blaine sat on a bench outside of the theatre.<p>

"You okay?" Erin asked Blaine, who was shaking slightly.

"Yeah," he said slowly. "Thanks for talking up back there."

"Hey, you know I've always got your back."

"I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I can just never speak up for myself around them."

"You just need to tap into that violent part of you."

Blaine gave her a doubtful look.

"Okay, maybe not _violent_," Erin conceded. "But you could be a little more...forceful."

Blaine smiled as his phone began to vibrate in his hand. "Hello?" he asked, holding it up to his ear.

"I'm down the block from the movie theatre," Bart responded. "How was it?"

"Fine, dad. We'll be there in a minute."

* * *

><p>After Bart pulled out of Erin's driveway, he briefly glanced back at his son. "So?"<p>

"What, dad?" Blaine asked, exasperated.

"Do you think she likes you?"

"Yes, dad? I don't know! Maybe."

"Well, you like her, right?"

Blaine breathed in deeply. "Yes, dad."

"I think she likes you."

"Great, dad. Can we just go home now?"

* * *

><p>Blaine found Shane waiting for him in his bedroom when he arrived at home.<p>

"What?" Blaine asked tiredly.

"Thanks. I love you, too, Blaine," Shane responded sarcastically.

"Sorry, I'm just...really tired."

"Come on, Blaine, I really need to talk to you."

"Fine, shoot," Blaine said, undressing and getting ready for bed. "But make it quick. I just want this day to be over."

"Well, you know how I said I was worried that Maggie...likes me? I think I might like someone else, but...the person doesn't even know I exist. And I don't want to hurt Maggie either. She's one of my best friends."

Blaine walked over to the bathroom and stuck his head under the faucet, trying to wash the chocolate out of his ebony curls.

"I really don't know what to tell you. Maybe you should just talk to Maggie? She might actually understand. And this other girl...find any excuse to be near her, let her know that you like her."

"Sure. Thanks, Blaine," Shane said, walking out of the room. "Good night."

"Night, Shane."


	12. Chapter 12

Micah woke to his alarm blaring loudly at 6 am. He slowly rolled out of bed and walked down the hallway into the kitchen, not even bothering to change out of his pajamas until he'd had his coffee. The house was still dark, as it usually was when he woke up. Micah's parents didn't usually wake up until he was just about to leave.

He began brewing coffee, and poured himself a bowl of mini wheats. Micah walked outside and picked up the paper and read it along with his breakfast. His morning routine sometimes made him feel as if he was a forty-year-old man, but he enjoyed it.

After breakfast, Micah went to his room and began to get dressed. He brushed his teeth, splashed some water on his face, and put on his wire-rimmed glasses. Micah walked over to the very full bookshelf on the other side of his room and carefully selected the pristine copy of _Huck Finn_ that Erin had given him for Christmas. Micah packed his backpack and entered the hall, ready to catch his bus at 6:45 am.

"Hey dad," Micah said as he passed his father in the hallway.

"Off to catch the bus?" George Randall asked his only son. Sometimes he wished that he was more involved in the boy's life, but Micah was just so reserved and always kept to himself.

"Yep. Tell mom I love her. Bye!"

* * *

><p>Micah walked down the block, toward his bus stop. Luckily, he rarely received any sort of torment on the bus. Most people didn't seem to care unless the jocks were around.<p>

He saw Erin descending the steps of her bus when he finally arrived at school, and ran to catch up with her.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerily.

"Good weekend?" he asked.

"Oh, it was...okay. You know, the usual."

"And your date?" Micah smirked as he asked this.

Erin rolled her eyes. "It was fine until we got to the movie, and then...well, we weren't the only ones watching it, I'll leave it at that."

"Ouch. Were there a lot of...problems?"

"Not really. We did get asked to leave by the theatre manager, but that wasn't until the movie was over."

"Good," Micah said, sinking down into a chair at the table in the back of the library. After a short pause, he said, "You had Johnson for US History last year, right?"

"Yeah, easiest class ever," Erin responded passively.

"I guess...her assignments are really easy, but the tests are killer."

"Yeah, but all the fluffy assignments count for more than the tests do."

"True," Micah agreed. "Do you remember the test on the Civil War?"

"Vaguely. I usually try to forget these things as soon as possible."

"Was it really hard?"

"I don't think so? Like I said, I try not to think about tests any more than I have to."

Micah grinned. "Whatever, I don't really care that much..." he said unconvincingly. He was, by far, the most studious of the trio.

Blaine came and sat down with the three, slightly sweaty after his bike ride to school.

"Really, Blaine? You stink. When was the last time you bathed?" Erin asked, wrinkling her nose at the younger boy.

"Sorry, I had to _bike _to school. You know, actually _exercise?_"

"Don't talk to _me _about exercise, Blaine Anderson," Erin responded threateningly.

"I'd run if I were you," Micah advised helpfully before pulling _Huck Finn_ from his bag and settling down to read while Blaine and Erin bickered.

* * *

><p>Micah's first class of the day was home ec. He didn't even want to take it, but he needed the credit and didn't want to have to take a computer class. Unfortunately, it was perfect fuel for the bullying.<p>

"Have fun in there, lady," a boy said, shoving Micah to the side of the hall as he made for the home ec classroom. Micah simply sighed and clenched his jaw as he entered the classroom, massaging his shoulder.

"Today, we will be making pie crusts," Mrs. Lawrence, the teacher, said after the bell rang. "Everyone get into your cooking groups and make sure your kitchens are ready."

Micah sighed and walked over to the green kitchen. Mrs. Lawrence had assigned groups at the beginning of the year, which had made it easier for him. The other three members of his group were a quiet sophomore girl, a cheerleader, and one of Blaine's friends from the drama club. Thankfully, the two other girls didn't tease Micah, so the cheerleader was much more subdued than she would have been if her friends were around. The cheerleader, a junior named Laura, had made herself the unofficial leader of the group, which suited Micah just fine. "All right, _girls_," she began. She always referred to the group as a whole as "girls," which Micah guessed was supposed to be an insult to him. But if it was all she was doing, it didn't bother him too much. "This had better turn out perfectly. I need to keep my 4.0 GPA, and this class is too easy to mess that up for me." She glared at Micah at the end of her statement, as if accusing him of plotting to mess up her perfect GPA. Unfortunately, she was probably right. Micah was a miserable cook.

The group settled into a routine where Micah handed ingredients to the others while they did the cooking. Afterwards, he washed the dishes, the sophomore dried them, the actress put them away, and Laura "supervised." Their pie crust sat in the refrigerator waiting until the next day when they would fill it.

At the bell, Micah made his way to his biology class. To get there, he had to walk past the gymnasium stairwell. As he passed it, nose stuck in _Huck Finn_, he found a body blocking his way. "You know something I haven't done in a while?"the boy asked in a menacing growl. Micah looked up and around him. He was surrounded. He closed his book, stuck it under his arm, and tried to run for it.

"Woah, where are you going, lady boy?" another asked, pushing Micah back into the center of the huddle. Another boy stepped forward and pulled the book from under Micah's arm.

"Whatcha reading, homo?"

"Hey, give that back!" Micah shouted, lunging forward and finding himself pushed back into the circle.

"_The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," _the boy read. "You know, this looks like a pretty fancy book. It'd be a shame if anything happened to it..." He opened the book to the center and slowly began to pull with all his strength.

"No! Please!" Micah shouted, earning laughs from the surrounding boys.

With a ripping noise that seemed to tear Micah apart, the book fell into two pieces. The boy simply tossed them to the side of the hallway and advance on Micah once again. By now, they were all late for class, yet none of the surrounding teachers seemed to care. They forced Micah into the stairwell, and with a strong shove, the first boy pushed Micah forward and down the stairs.

The boy tumbled, feeling each step hitting him in a new and mare painful way than the last. At the bottom, he lay in a crumpled heap, surrounded by the boys' laughter.

"Put him in the closet, see if his fag friends will notice that he's gone," the first boy instructed.

Two of the jocks picked Micah up harshly and dragged him toward the smaller gym. They unceremoniously tossed him inside. Micah felt his head collide with something hard, and began to feel a bit dizzy. He almost didn't notice as the door was jammed shut and barricaded from the outside.

* * *

><p>Erin walked from her second period class to her third period chemistry class. She ignored the glares and whispers that surrounded her in the halls and kept her head high. As she passed the gym stairwell, however, something caught Erin's eye. There were some papers lying in a heap on the ground. They looked somewhat familiar... Upon closer inspection, Erin gasped in recognition. It was a mutilated copy of <em>Huckleberry Finn<em>, the book that she had given Micah for Christmas. Quickly, she picked it up and rushed down the stairs, completely forgetting about chemistry.

Erin ran past the crowds of students flooding the locker room hallway and made her way toward the smallest gym. When she opened the door and saw the broom handle stuck in the equipment closet, she called out, "Micah?"

From inside the closet, Micah heard his friend's voice. "Erin?"

Erin sighed in relief. "You okay?"

"I'm not sure..." came the muffled response. "I think I may have hurt my arm..."

Erin had reached the closet now and was working on unjamming the doors. As soon as they were loose, she put all her strength behind one strong pull and opened to door.

The light that flooded into the small closet illuminated Micah's crumpled form sitting on the floor in the exact same position the jocks had left him in.

Erin reached out a hand to pull her friend up. "What happened?"

"They, uh, cornered me. Pushed me down the stairs. Brought me here," Micah said simply.

Erin began inspecting the boy like a mother. "You look terrible."

"Thanks. That's what I really needed to hear."

"Come on, let's go to the nurse."

* * *

><p>Erin dropped Micah off at the nurse's office and headed back to chemistry. Inside the small clinic, the nurse, a kindly middle-aged woman, turned to Micah.<p>

"Are you all right, honey?"

"Yeah, I just tripped and fell down the stairs."

The nurse gave Micah a searching look and he refused to meet her eyes.

"Well, unfortunately, I can't give you anything for this, but I can call your mother and have her pick you up."

"Um, no, I'm fine, thanks!" Micah said quickly. "Really. I'll...just go back to class now."

Micah didn't want his parents finding out about what happened at school. And they would never believe that he'd just fallen down the stairs.

* * *

><p>Erin tracked Blaine down as he was heading toward P.E.<p>

"Have you seen Micah?" she asked.

"No. Why?"

Erin produced the ripped copy of _Huck Finn_ from her bag in response. Blaine's eyes grew wide.

"What did they do? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Well, not really. He's shaken up and I think they hurt his arm. They pushed him down a flight of stairs."

"And no one did anything about _that? _I get how teachers can turn a blind eye towards the rest of it, but this is just...vicious."

"I know, but Micah is just telling everyone that he fell."

"You mean he's staying for the rest of the day?" Blaine was dumbfounded. If he'd been pushed down a flight of stairs, he'd skip the rest of the day of school.

"Well," Erin began, "this _is _Micah we're talking about. Anyway, would you really want to explain to everyone, especially your _parents_, how you managed to fall down a flight of stairs?"

"Good point." Around the two, the hallways had thinned out. Overhead, the bell rang.

"Listen, I really should get to class," Erin said quickly. "But I wanted to talk to you about this without Micah. None of us have had it this bad before. Can you...hang out with Micah tonight? I don't want to leave him alone, and I have practice."

"Of course! I don't really want to leave him alone either."

"Good. I'll catch you at lunch."

* * *

><p>Blaine was hurrying through the lunch line, trying to get to Micah as quickly as possible. Rashly, he decided to walk down the main aisle in the cafeteria. He saw a few jocks glance at him, but thankfully no one stopped him. As he rushed outside to the steps, a hand shoved him to the ground, causing far less damage than a full-fledged trip. Most of his food was still intact and it its proper wrapping.<p>

"Watch where you're going, faggot!" the boy shouted before walking away laughing.

Blaine rolled his eyes, got up, and brushed himself off. He had bigger things to worry about than simply being pushed. He jogged the rest of the way to the steps, holding the still edible pieces of his lunch and sank down next to Micah. He put down the food and inspected his hands. "Damn it," Blaine muttered. The palms of his hands were scraped and bleeding, and the right knee of his jeans was torn.

"What happened?" Erin asked.

"Pushed over. How're you, Micah?"

Micah just shrugged and offered Blaine part of his sandwich. Blaine shook his head, pushing the food away. "No thanks. Enough of my food survived today."

Blaine could feel his phone vibrate against his leg from inside his backpack. Who would be texting him in the middle of the day?

_You're still coming to see my practice today, rite? - S_

"Crap," Blaine said, remembering what he had promised his brother yesterday.

* * *

><p>"<em>Is dad coming to the winter festival?" Shane had asked.<em>

"_I think so," Blaine replied, focusing more on his geometry homework than his little brother._

"_Would you come to my practice tomorrow, just to make sure I'm ready for dad? I don't want him to see anything bad..."_

"_Shane, you're an amazing dancer. I'm sure you'll be fine."_

"_But this is my first lead position in a recital, and I want to be perfect so dad won't try to make me quit again."_

"_Sure. Fine," Blaine said, mostly to get his brother out of his hair as he tried to figure out a particularly difficult proof._

* * *

><p>"I promised Shane I'd go watch his dance practice today. He's worried that my dad won't like it when he finally watches it..." Blaine explained in answer to his friends' questioning looks.<p>

Erin widened her eyes and jerked her head toward Micah, silently asking, "What about Micah? I thought you said you'd watch him!"

"Do either of you want to come watch it with me? I've probably seen this a thousand times, and unfortunately I've also had the bad luck to be Shane's partner when he practices at home...I know this by heart. It'll be _so_ boring for me."

"Well, after that glowing endorsement, it really kills me to say no," Erin began sarcastically, "but I've got practice."

"Micah?" Blaine asked, turning wide, pleading eyes on his friend.

"Yeah, I guess," Micah responded, a small smile crossing his lips. "You danced with your brother?"

"If you ever speak of that again, I will _kill _you," Blaine said. "Anyway, I was going to bike over to the studio after school. It's not that far, do you mind walking? I guess we could always take the bus, too..."

"How far is it?"

"A couple of miles?"

"Maybe we should take the bus."

* * *

><p>Erin was repacking her backpack before the end of lunch when she saw something in her bag. She hesitated slightly, then pulled out the pieces of <em>Huck Finn<em>.

"Hey, Micah?" she said.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning to her.

"I-I found this in the stairwell...do you still want it?" She nervously held out the two halves of the book.

"Oh." Micah's face clouded over. "Sure. Th-thanks." Micah stuffed the pieces into his backpack, barely giving them a second look, as if it was physically painful for him to see a book in that state of distress.

* * *

><p>Micah walked with Blaine as he hid his bike in the trees behind school. "You don't mind taking the bus, do you?" he asked Blaine nervously.<p>

"No," Blaine said. "Seriously. I'm just glad that I have someone to go to Shane's practice with... But seriously, are _you _okay? After this morning?"

Micah absently rubbed his wrist. Blaine could see that it was slightly swollen and there were bruises forming on the side of his face and arm. "Yeah, I'm fine. It was...no big deal."

Blaine gave Micah a look, as if insinuating that the other boy was insane. "Okay," Micah amended, "maybe it was worse than usual, or at least different, but whatever."

Blaine and Micah approached the bus stop only seconds before the bus arrived. They managed to score seats together, near the front of the bus. Blaine looked up as he was sitting down and was surprised to see a familiar face. Sitting across from the two boys was a pretty girl in a private school uniform. She hadn't noticed Blaine yet, but he elbowed Micah and pointed to her. "That's the girl from the time on the bus!" he whispered.

"Her? Really?"

"Yes, her," Blaine responded, slightly annoyed. "Just because she's...slight doesn't mean that she can't yell."

The girl looked up and happened to notice Blaine. She smiled at him and he smiled back in response.

* * *

><p>Micah liked being with Blaine. They both experienced the same torture from the jocks every day, but neither felt the need to talk about it. Or maybe, neither <em>could <em>talk about it. At any rate, sitting with Blaine on the bus and shooting the breeze felt good. There was no pressure on either of them, and Blaine wasn't trying to make him describe what had happened that morning.

Erin just didn't quite get it. Maybe because she'd spent far less time in the closet than either Blaine or Micah. She was rarely chased, and even when she was, she usually outran the jocks. They preferred Micah and Blaine, the slower targets. So she wanted to talk about it when it happened, and all Blaine and Micah wanted to do was forget it.

Sitting with Blaine here on the bus was easy, though. It was fun, and it took his mind off of everything that had happened that morning...except for the dull throb in his wrist.

* * *

><p>Shane was unlocking his bike from the middle school's bike rack when he heard his phone ring from inside his backpack.. He pulled it out and opened the message from Blaine.<p>

_Im on my way to the studio. Probs stopping 4 a drink. Micahs coming with me. - B_

Shane's stomach dropped at the words. An audience who wasn't related to him and therefore didn't have to sing his praises... And then Shane thought of the thoughtful boy, with the warm eyes behind the wire-rimmed glasses.

* * *

><p>Blaine led Micah from the bus stop toward the CVS near the dance studio.<p>

"So, have you read _Deathly Hallows_ yet?" Blaine asked, smirking.

"Not yet. Do you think I could borrow your copies of the fifth and sixth books? I've only read to the fourth...although maybe I should reread the first four, too. It's been a while."

Blaine's head was reeling; how anyone could stand to _not _finish the series? "Of course. I'll bring them to school tomorrow. The first or the fifth?"

"Fifth. I think I remember enough of the first four."

Blaine rolled his eyes at his bookworm friend.

"So, why are we going here?" Micah asked as they entered the CVS.

"Just humor me," Blaine said, heading toward the pharmacy section at the back of the store. He walked down an aisle and picked up a wrist brace.

"Really?" Micah asked, exasperated. "I'm _fine_."

"No, you're not," Blaine said firmly. "Your wrist is swollen. And it's really gross looking, no offense. And no matter what you say, I'm going to buy this, so you might as well use it." At this, Blaine turned and walked up to the cash register.

Micah looked from his friend's retreating back to his wrist. It certainly was...colorful. Not only was it red and swollen, but the bruising was a nasty mix of yellow, blue, and purple. He sighed. "Fine! I'll wear it," he called after Blaine.

"I know!" Blaine called back.

Despite himself, Micah grinned.

* * *

><p>The two boys briefly stopped in the Starbucks next to the dance studio. Blaine ordered a chai tea, and Micah got apple cider. Then they walked into the studio, nursing their hot drinks. Blaine smiled at the woman sitting at the desk in the lobby. "Hi Andrea!" he said to her.<p>

"Hey Blaine. Here to see Shane again?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's having another self doubting phase, I'm here to tell him that he actually is a good dancer."

"He just got here a couple of minutes ago," Andrea said, chuckling appreciatively. "They're in rehearsal room two today. You can go there and watch."

"Great. Thanks!"

As the two boys walked down the hallway, Micah asked Blaine, "You come here often?"

Blaine nodded. "Whenever Shane has a panic attack and decides he's a terrible dancer. So basically, at least once a month."

"What kind of dance does your brother do?"

"Pretty much all of it. Ballet, modern, jazz... He has classes every day after school, but the company kind of does a mix of everything in their performances and stuff. We turn here," Blaine added, pointing to a door to the right of the boys.

Micah pushed open the door, and the two boys stepped through, taking seats along the wall. From across the room, Blaine saw his brother stretching and warming up with a few of the others in his group. There were two other boys; the rest were girls. Shane looked up, saw his brother, and waved enthusiastically. Blaine gave his brother a small thumbs up and sat back in his seat, letting the soft music envelope him.

* * *

><p>"Do you want a ride back to school?" Micah asked Blaine once Shane's rehearsal was over.<p>

"Actually, that'd be great. Can your mom pick you up?"

"Yeah, she just got off of work, so she should be here in a couple of minutes."

"Thanks," Blaine said. The two boys were standing in the lobby, waiting for Shane to come out of the changing room. Soon, they saw the approaching form that looked so like his older brother, curls bouncing as he ran down the hallway.

"So?" Shane asked as soon as he stopped in front of Blaine and Micah.

"You were great. As usual," Blaine said in a bored voice.

Shane rolled his eyes and turned to Micah. "You're a really amazing dancer," Micah told him, smiling. "Really."

Shane's smile couldn't get any bigger. "Thanks!"

Micah's phone rang, and he held it up to his ear. "That was my mom. She's here now," he informed the two boys. "Do you want a ride, too?" he asked Shane.

Shane gave Blaine a questioning look, and said, "No, I have my bike...thanks, though! And thanks for watching! Most people don't like watching dance..."

"It was fun. Nice to see you again," Micah said warmly the younger Anderson boy as he and Blaine went outside to find his mother's waiting car. Micah nervously tugged his shirt sleeve down over his hand, covering the brace.

In the back seat of the car, Blaine pulled out his phone and quickly texted Shane.

_We took the bus here, micahs mom is taking me to my bike at school. See u soon. - B_

"It's nice to meet you, Blaine. Micah's told me so much about both you and Erin," Jen Randall, Micah's mother, said warmly. Blaine noticed that she had the same warm brown eyes as her son.

"It's nice to meet you, too. And thanks so much for the ride," Blaine said. He had always been good at talking to parents, other than his own.

"Are you sure I can't give you a ride to your house? We could fit the bike in the backseat."

"No, it's fine. It's really not a long ride, and I don't want you to go out of your way."

"All right, well here you go then," Jen replied, stopping in front of Stanton.

"Thanks! See you tomorrow, Micah!"

"Bye!"

Micah moved up to the passenger seat once Blaine left the car and sat on the edge of his seat, holding his backpack protectively on his lap. Jen Randall looked over at her son, and her eyes alighted on his wrist.

"What happened to your wrist?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"What? Oh, this? I...fell. During P.E." Micah began. "We were playing football, and I tripped over some roots. I kind of...caught myself on my wrist and it's a little sore."

Jen nodded, only somewhat concerned for her son. True, he wasn't clumsy, but he also was not athletic at all. It was understandable that he might have trouble in P.E.

* * *

><p>When Micah finally arrived at home, he went upstairs and turned on his computer. He logged into the public library website and began a new search. <em>The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn<em>, copies: 12. Micah resignedly selected the option to reserve one copy. He then opened up his backpack and took out the pieces of his once valuable copy of the book and placed them on the over flowing bookshelf.


	13. Chapter 13

Blaine had been true to his word and brought Micah first _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ and then _Half-Blood Prince_ once he'd finished. By the middle of February, Micah started on _Deathly Hallows. _If he hadn't had school to distract him from the final three volumes, Micah claimed that it would have gone faster; nonetheless, he tended to read books slowly the first time, so as to better absorb every word that the author had written.

One Friday morning in early March, Micah was eagerly awaiting Blaine's arrival at the library before school. As soon as the tired curly haired boy sat down at the table, Micah grinned at him.

"No," Blaine said in an awed voice.

"Yep."

"You finally finished?"

"Yep."

"And?"

"Well, they are pretty addictive, and the plot is certainly impressive," Micah began. "I mean, all the planning that went into it? Wow. Much better than _Twilight_," he added, aiming the last remark at Erin, who was trying to cram for a chemistry exam and didn't appreciate the jibe. "There were just a few...issues that I had with it."

"What? Those books are amazing!" Blaine said, although still glad that Micah had enjoyed the series.

"Yeah, there were just some questions that I had."

Blaine was silent for a moment. "Are you busy tonight?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"Point taken. You're coming over to my house tonight and we're going to discuss the books and watch the movies," Blaine told Micah.

Micah grinned. "And how long will this take? My parents may start to worry if I don't come home for 36 hours..."

"You're right. You better go home first and get some clothes and stuff. And then get to my house ASAP."

The bell rang, and the three began to collect their things as Micah said, "Perfect. I'll be there."

Micah hurried off to his first period class while Erin and Blaine hung back. "Are you busy?" Blaine asked her. "You know you're always welcome. My dad would probably have a field day if you slept over..."

"Sorry, as enjoyable as your little 'geek fest' sounds, I have to get some sleep tonight. I have a big meet tomorrow."

"Where?" Blaine asked.

"Here, it starts at 11."

"Maybe Micah and I will stop by if he needs a break from Harry... Oh, and speaking of my dad-"

"I didn't realize were talking about your dad," Erin interjected as the two walked upstairs.

"Well, I mentioned him earlier. Anyway, do you thing we could go on a 'date' again soon?"

"I'd love to, _hon_. We'll talk later, okay?"

* * *

><p>Erin walked to her first period class. She really wasn't fond of classes the day before track meets. There were a bunch of people on the team, it was a walk-on team and getting on varsity wasn't too hard. On the day before any meet, the girls from the team would dress up for some sort of theme day and bring each other snacks to classes. Erin wasn't included in these activities, though. That had ended the day she came out.<p>

In her first period class, there were two girls from the track team. One had a plate of cupcakes in front of her, the other had a bag of pretzels. Both were wearing tye dyed shirts and flared pants, as the theme for the day was Hippie Day. Erin sighed and focused on her chemistry homework, trying to block out the voice of Senora Garcia's lesson on the preterit tense.

x

"We can either start with discussing the books first and then watch the movies, or we can intersperse it, so none of it gets too boring...not that _Harry Potter _could ever be boring..." Blaine was telling Micah. Neither Micah nor Erin had ever seen Blaine talk so passionately about anything, and both found it rather amusing. "And the tomorrow, we can go watch Erin run!"

"Wait-what?" Erin asked. "I thought you were joking about that..."

"No way!" Micah added. "We need to support our friend!"

"Track meets are kind of boring. It's just watching a bunch of people run in circles and jump over things."

"So? You may think we're just there to support you, but I have ulterior motives," Blaine said. "Guys who run track rarely wear shirts and wear really short shorts. It sounds like a good time!"

"You boys and your hormones..."

"Hey, that's just Blaine, not me," Micah said in defense. "Although that does't sound all bad."

Erin just rolled her eyes at the two boys she was sitting with.

"Come on, don't tell me that you don't enjoy watching the cheerleaders," Blaine said to Erin who blushed profusely and refused to answer him.

"Busted," Micah said, jokingly elbowing Erin in the side.

"Aw, isn't this cute. Two little fags and a dyke," a low voice said from above them. The three had been having too much fun joking around with each other on the back steps that they hadn't been watching around them.

"What do you want?" Blaine growled in as menacing a voice as he could muster, hoping that his fear didn't translate.

"I want you homos to stop spreading your fairy dust all over the place," he said, towering over the trio.

"You know what I want?" Blaine said, standing up, unsure of where this courage was coming from. "I want you close-minded idiots to stop spreading your _hate _everywhere."

Erin and Micah stood up behind him, not sure what to do, but they now felt like they were more formidable as it was now three to one.

"What did you just call me, fag?" the boy said, lowering his face so that he and Blaine were almost nose to nose.

"I called you and idiot. You know, a moron, and imbecile, a _simpleton_."

"Blaine," Micah warned in a low voice. Erin grabbed Blaine's arm as he made to move forward.

"You think you can just throw names at me and I can't throw them back at you?" Blaine continued angrily.

"You better shut your fucking mouth now, fag, before I get really angry."

The back steps were both a blessing and a curse as a lunching spot. It was rarely travelled, so few people came by to bother them. Of course, it was rarely travelled, so few people would notice if this jock beat them to a pulp.

Erin nervously glanced down at her watch, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's up with you, dyke?" the jock asked upon hearing Erin's exhalation.

"I wouldn't do anything right now, if I were you. The bell's about to ring, and suddenly everyone will be walking right by."

The jock looked around him disgustedly and turned back to Blaine. "You better watch your back," he spat, "fag."

The boy turned away, and the bell rang above.

"What the _hell _was that?" Erin asked, turning on Blaine.

"What?"

"You, just now? Are you a complete idiot?"

"I'm tired of them just walking all over us!"

"And you couldn't think of any better moment to stand up to them?"

"Hey, lay off him," Micah said. "He was just trying -"

"Do neither of you care that they can do whatever they want to us and get away with it?" Blaine asked incredulously.

"Of course we care!" Micah responded indignantly.

"But there's a time and place for this sort of thing, and this isn't it," Erin said.

"Why not?"

"Because he could actually kill you. I'm not trying to be melodramatic. It's true, that guy was at least twice your size."

Blaine hung his head in defeat. "Okay, I get it. But still."

"I _know_," Micah said, while Erin nodded fervently. "Let's just – go to class now, okay? I'll see you tonight."

* * *

><p>After school, Blaine went out to the bike rack. He had finally stopped hiding his bike when it seemed like it was no longer a target. At first glance, it seemed completely unharmed, but upon closer inspection, Blaine saw that words had been scribbled all over the pale blue body of the bike. Blaine didn't have to read it to know what it said. He began to rub the black ink, but unfortunately it wouldn't smudge. Blaine hung his head, accepted defeat, and mounted his bike. As he began pedaling home, the words written on his bike flashed in front of his eyes. <em>Faggot. Die, homo. Leave us alone. Ladyboy. <em>

By the time he was slowing down in front of his house, tears were streaming out behind Blaine's face. He didn't know what to do with the bike. If he left it in the garage, then his father might see it. He couldn't bring it into the house. The only option left was to hide it in the back yard until he was able to figure out what to do.

* * *

><p>Erin was waiting at the finish line, helping the track coach time practice races. On the field, jumpers were practicing their triple jumps, long jumps, pole vaults, and high jumps. Next, Erin would be participating in the 4 by 1600 meter relay with three other girls from the team. They were also on varsity, but were upperclassmen. They were Stanton's top girls' relay team. Erin was proud of them, and happy with the girls that she ran with. None of them seemed to have any issue with her, at least while they were on the track. Other than the 4 X 1600, Erin also ran the 800 meter dash. She had one of the fastest times on the team, girls <em>and <em>boys. She was on track to become a captain next year.

Tomorrow was going to be the first meet of the spring season. It wasn't the most important meet by any means, but they felt some level of pressure to do well since they hosted it. Therefore, Erin was working double duty at practice today, helping the coaches _and _running.

Just beyond the track, the cheerleaders were practicing. They usually only cheered at football and basketball games, but they always made the exception for this first spring track meet. The girls were practicing their high kicks, handsprings, and tosses. Erin couldn't help but become a little distracted.

* * *

><p>Shane came home from school to find the garage empty of Blaine's bike. Yet, when he walked up to his bedroom, he heard grunts coming from Blaine's room.<p>

"Blaine?" he asked timidly, pushing the door open slightly. Inside the room, Blaine was pacing back and forth, muttering under his breath. He still hadn't noticed Shane. As Blaine passed the far wall, he lashed out at it and punched the wall with all his strength.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

"Well, that's what happens when you punch the wall," Shane said, stating the obvious.

Blaine glared at his younger brother but said nothing, so Shane continued speaking. "Where's your bike?"

"In the backyard." Blaine offered no further explanation, and flopped down on his bed. Once he finally ceased his constant motion, Shane noticed that his brother's eyes were red and puffy.

"Why?" No response. "Blaine, are you okay?" Still, Blaine was silent. After another beat, Shane was about to leave. Blaine finally spoke up. "Some idiot...graffitied it. I can't let dad see, so it's outside until I can figure out how to fix it."

"Oh." Shane wasn't sure what to say to this. He didn't know how to comfort his brother in situations like this. Blaine was usually the stronger one. "Sorry."

Blaine laughed harshly. "Whatever. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

Shane opened his mouth, trying to put what he was feeling into words. He was saved by a knock on the front door. "That'll be Micah..." Blaine said, getting up. He quickly went into the bathroom, splashed cold water on his face, dried it off, and ran downstairs to greet his friend.

Shane, Blaine, and Micah sat among the many pillows in the basement, a frozen image of Harry, Ron, and Hermione on the large television screen. Currently, Micah was firing questions about continuity in the novels at Blaine.

"Well, when they're in the cafe on Tottenham Court Road, Hermione said that she'd never modified any memories before. But didn't she do that to her parents before leaving for the Burrow?"

Blaine was momentarily speechless. "Um... Maybe there's a difference between modifying someone's memory and erasing it...?"

Micah wasn't totally convinced by this answer. "Whatever. Let's just keep watching the movie."

* * *

><p>Shane went upstairs for a while, leaving Blaine and Micah downstairs, watching the movie.<p>

"Dad? Are you busy now?"

"No, Shane, not right now."

"Well, the Spring Showcase for my dance company is in a couple of weeks...I just wanted to know if you and mom were going to come."

"Oh," Bart said, slightly disappointed.

"You came to the Winter Showcase, and you said I was good," Shane added.

"Yes, I did," Bart said.

"So should I ask for tickets for you guys? Because I need to tell my teacher soon."

"You know I don't like you prancing around a stage in tutus or whatever it is that you have to wear for this dance stuff, right?" Bart finally said.

"But _I _like dance, dad. Shouldn't that be enough for you?" Shane was pleading with his father now.

"Do you even care what people think about you when they see you wearing pink and glitter and all that other crap?"

"No, dad, I don't care. Because it doesn't mean anything about me. Please come dad. I really want you to see me dance. You never come to my recitals." Shane took a deep breath before adding, "Maggie and I even have a solo together...or I guess it'd be a duet. Just us, it's a really cool routine..."

Bart looked around the room. "I'll think about it. Your mother and I will discuss it and I'll tell you later."

Shane grinned. "Thanks, dad!"

* * *

><p>In the basement, Blaine and Micah had ended up huddled together on the floor. Blaine had started to get tired, and leaned his head on Micah's shoulder. The taller boy had wrapped his arm around his friend to warm him. It was totally platonic. But that wasn't what Shane saw. When he saw his brother and the other boy cuddled together, he had wanted to run downstairs and rip them apart. He wanted something like that.<p>

Instead of rejoining the two boys, Shane went back upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

><p>Around 2 in the morning, the boys finished up one of the movies and were too tired to start the next one. Instead, they turned off the lights and decided to talk until they fell asleep.<p>

"Micah?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah?" Micah responded while stifling a yawn.

"Have you had a boyfriend before?" Blaine was glad that Micah couldn't see how uncomfortable this question made him. But he didn't know any other gay boys, so Micah was the only one he could ask.

"Kind of," Micah answered slowly. "Last year, there was the other boy in my school, and I really liked him. And he was really nice, and we hung out a lot. And then one day, when we were at his house, he asked me if I liked him because he really liked me."

Both Blaine and Micah were silent for a moment before Micah continued his story. "I don't know if what we were doing really counts as dating, because it was basically the same thing as I did with all my other friends, boys and girls, but we...held hands. And then on the day when my dad told me that we were moving and I knew that I wouldn't see him that much anymore, I went to him and I was crying and just a mess. Because I was going to miss my friends. And he...he kissed me."

"Have you seen him since you moved?" Blaine was scared to hear the answer.

"A couple of times, but it's over a half an hour back to there, so I can't get out there a lot."

"So, are you...?"

"No. I mean, I think he's got a new boyfriend. We were never really official in the first place. And when I saw him last...we both just seemed different."

"I'm sorry," Blaine said.

"It's cool, it's not like it was anything serious..." Micah trailed off, thoughts travelling back to his old school.

"You miss it there," Blaine said.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>BANG!<p>

With the sound of the gun, six girls took off, sprinting around the Stanton High School track. Erin stood nervously on the side, cheering on her teammates. As the fastest, she was the last leg of the relay. In the middle of the field, the SHS cheerleaders were enthusiastically jumping around, cheering on the runners.

The first girls were rounding the last bend, and the seconds were waiting to grab the batons at their marks.

As Erin's teammate, Emma, came jogging back to the sidelines, Erin ran up to her and high-fived her. "You were amazing!" she squealed.

"Thanks," Emma responded, slightly out of breath, as she poured water over her head and into her mouth.

The seconds were coming back now, so Erin readied herself for her turn. After the baton was passed to the third, a senior named Katie, Erin ran up to her mark and got in position. She could hear the shouts from the crowd and the cheers from the cheerleaders. Out of the corners of her eyes, Erin saw them tossing girls up into the air as the screamed, "Leave them in the dust!" to the runners.

Erin could sense the runners approaching. As Katie approached and began to slow down, Erin began jogging. The pass was seamless, and Erin took off. As soon as she began running, every thought was chased out of her head. All she could think about was the blur of colors around the track, and the smiles that Blaine and Micah had given her before she began.

Erin rounded the last bend ahead of the other runners. Still, she pushed harder and came to the finish line sprinting. Her teammates ran up to her and congratulated her.

"Erin! We won! And we PR'd!"

"Really?" Erin squealed. To get a personal record at the first meet of the season wasn't unusual for newer teams, but these four girls had been running together since last spring.

Through her joy, Erin noticed that there was a strange quiet to the field. She looked around and noticed that the cheerleaders were sitting casually around, having just neglected the final runner for their school. But Erin's spirits could only slightly be dampened.

She had a little while before her next race, so Erin walked out of the field and met Blaine and Micah near the bleachers. "Congrats!" Blaine said.

"You were really fast," Micah added.

"And that's about all we're qualified to say!" Blaine finished.

Erin laughed. "Thanks for coming guys!"

Micah shifted awkwardly and looked sideways to Blaine. "Uh...did you happen to see the cheerleaders while you ran?" he asked timidly.

Erin's face clouded over. "Not until after. But I'm assuming that they stopped cheering as soon as Katie passed the baton to me?"

Blaine nodded. "Sorry."

"Why? It's not _your_ fault. And I should probably expect it at this point. Anyway, it's better than being stuffed in a closet..."

A group of runners in green and white uniforms that said "Sacred Heart" on them walked by at that moment, laughing and chatting. The trio ignored them as they walked to the snack bar. They joined the line behind a few of the cheerleaders who were taking a break as they organized for the next event on the track.

Blaine's stomach growled loudly and the other two laughed. "How are you still hungry?" Micah asked. "We just had the world's biggest breakfast!"

"Hey," Blaine said, "I'm a growing boy!"

Erin smirked and said, "Really, Blaine? Are you sure? Because, if anything, you're _shorter_ than when I first met you!"

Micah burst out laughing, and Blaine's ears turned red. He playfully shoved Erin, who was slightly unbalanced from laughing herself. She stumbled a little and fell onto the girl in front of her.

"What the hell?" the girl said as she and her friends turned around to face the trio.

Blaine's face went white. The girl that Erin had just fallen onto was a cheerleader.

The girl narrowed her eyes at Erin. "Touch me again, dyke, and I will report you for sexual assault!" she growled at Erin.

Erin glared back at the girl, but said nothing. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind the group.

"What did you just call her?"

Everyone turned to stare. Standing at the end of the line was a girl in a green and white Sacred Heart uniform. Blaine's eyes widened when he saw her, and he elbowed Micah, pointing.

"Stay out of this," the cheerleader spat back, clearly annoyed.

"Look, I go to a _Catholic _school where we're taught that being gay is against God. And no one there is even a fraction as small-minded as the people I've seen at this school!" she replied calmly.

The cheerleader advanced on the Sacred Heart girl now, forgetting Erin completely. "This isn't any of your business, bitch. Now, I'd advise that you get your scrawny little butt out of here before I make you _my business_."

The girl sent another scathing look at the cheerleaders before turning heel and walking away.

The cheerleaders looked triumphant, and the first one turned back to Erin. "I better not catch you _looking _at me, or there will be hell to pay from my _boy_friend," she growled before turning back to her friends. Blaine ignored this, and instead grabbed Erin's and Micah's arms and pulled them along after the girl.

"Wait!" Blaine called.

The girl turned, saw Blaine, and smiled. "I thought so," she said quietly.

"Who are you?" he asked somewhat breathlessly. "Are you some kind of...guardian angel that looks after gay kids or something?"

She laughed an adorable laugh that brought calm over all of those gathered around.

"No," she said, "I just don't agree with these – idiots at your school. And I thought it'd be bad to be gay at _my _school..."

Erin made the connection. "Wait, Blaine – is this the girl from the bus?"

Blaine nodded enthusiastically as the girl held out her hand to Erin. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Rebecca Douglas."


	14. Chapter 14

Erin took the girl's out stretched hand in her own. She had seen the girl run earlier. She wasn't that fast, but she had good form.

"Hi," she responded. "I'm Erin."

"I know," Rebecca said. "I saw you earlier in the 4 by 16. You are really fast."

"Thanks. For all of it."

"No problem. Those girls were already pissing me off after they didn't cheer for you. At first I wondered why, and then..." She gestured over to the snack booth in order to complete her sentence.

"Yeah," Erin responded darkly. "They can be pretty..."

"Brutal," Blaine finished for her. "I'm Blaine, by the way. We haven't exactly formally met yet."

"Nice to meet you, Blaine," Rebecca said, shaking his hand and turning next to Micah.

"Micah," the tall boy offered taking her hand.

"So what's wrong with your school? I mean, assaulting kids on the bus and verbally abusing star athletes? That's seriously messed up."

Blaine and Erin both turned slightly pink as Rebecca referenced the attacks that she had witnessed. Micah answered for the group. "Well, kids here...don't really like us. Cause we're gay."

"So?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, you go to Catholic school. I'm sure you know some pretty radical people. You know why they don't like us," Micah answered, as if it should have been obvious.

Rebecca sighed and was silent. Erin was able to finally get a really good look at the girl for the first time. The girl was just about her height and had light brown hair tied back in a long ponytail. She was slender but not sickly thin. She had beautiful greenish-blue eyes, and when she smiled, he had the most adorable dimples.

The discharge of the gun signaling the start of the next race brought Erin back to reality. "Crap! I've got to get back to the track! Nice to meet you, Rebecca. See you later Blaine, Micah!" And she took off back to the track.

Rebecca turned to the two boys. "Is it just you three?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, understanding her question.

The look of sympathy in the girl's warm eyes betrayed something deeper than just an enormous amount of empathy. It suggested something deeper, as if she was hiding something too. But Blaine knew better than to ask. There was another moment's silence, and Rebecca said, "Well, it was nice to finally meet you. I should probably get back to my team."

"Bye!" the two boys chorused as the slender girl in the green uniform ran off to the other members of her team.

* * *

><p>Micah's mother picked up the two boys after the meet and brought them downtown for a few hours. The story they told her was that they were going to see a movie. But after their <em>Harry Potter <em>marathon the night before, sitting around watching another movie held no appeal. Instead, they were heading downtown so that Blaine could stop at the bike shop to try to find some paint to cover the graffiti on his bike. The fact that a Barnes and Noble was just around the corner from the bike shop was used to tempt Micah.

Blaine dropped Micah off at the bookstore and promised not to bother him for a while and then walked over to the bike shop. There was only one man standing behind the counter, and he looked up at Blaine as he heard his approach.

"Hi," Blaine said nervously. "I was wondering if you had any bike paint? I got some stuff on the body of my bike, and I want to cover it up."

The man gave Blaine a questioning look, then directed him over to some shelves in the back of the store.

"You're going to want to remove anything from the bike that you don't want painted," the man began explaining in a slightly bored tone. "The you should degrease the bike, we sell the degreaser here, and remove all the existing paint with sandpaper." Blaine's head was reeling. He thought this was a simple matter of simply painting the bike. He hadn't realized that there was so much work involved. And it would be pretty expensive, what with all the things he had to buy... The man continued explaining: "Next, you're going to hang the bike, apply the primer, and let it dry for 24 hours. Sand the primer, apply your main coat of paint, and then sand that down once it dries. We also sell sticker and decals that you can use to decorate your bike."

"Oh. Wow. That's a lot," Blaine said. The man carefully showed him where everything he would need was located, and then totaled up Blaine's purchases. He fumbled around in his pockets to bring together enough paint and left the store.

Blaine found Micah sitting in a corner of the Barnes and Noble, thoroughly engrossed in a large, luminous book. "Hey," he said. "I got the stuff."

"Holy crap, that's a lot of stuff," Micah observed. "Why?"

"Apparently, repainting a bike is a lot more complicated than just simply repainting the bike. Can I maybe do this at your house?"

"Sure, I doubt my parents would mind."

* * *

><p>After the meet was finished and the awards were distributed (Erin's team won first in the 4 by 16 relay, and Erin also won the girls 800 meter dash), Erin rushed over to where a group of green uniform-clad students were gathered.<p>

"Rebecca?" she asked tentatively.

The girl turned around. "Oh, hi! Congrats on your wins!"

"Thanks," Erin said modestly. She never knew how to react to people complimenting her. "I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for me back there. And for Blaine, that day on the bus."

"It was nothing. _Really_."

"Well...yeah. That's what I came over to say." Erin was finding it difficult to tear her gaze away from the entrancing blue green eyes of the other girl.

Rebecca grinned. "Maybe we'll see each other again," she said.

"Yeah, maybe. Bye Rebecca." Erin finally was able to turn away, and as she was walking away, the other girl called, "Becca!"

"What?" Erin replied, turning around.

"It's Becca," she said, turning a little pink now. "Call me Becca."

"Okay," Erin replied, smiling. "Bye Becca."

* * *

><p>Micah's mother picked up the two boys from the Barnes and Noble a few hours later and brought Blaine back to his house.<p>

"Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Randall!" he called as he walked up the front steps. "See you later, Micah!" He had "accidentally" left his bag of supplies in the back seat of Micah's car so that he would have a reason to go over there later. As Blaine opened the front door of the house, he almost collided with Shane.

"Woah, Shane, slow down!" Blaine said. Shane had simply sped past Blaine and was going down the front steps to wait at the curb.

"Sorry, no time!" the younger Anderson boy called back.

"What's up?" Blaine asked, walking down to his brother's perch at the curb.

"Um, well...I have – Ihaveadate."

"You _what?_" Blaine asked, unable to understand Shane's hurried speech. Shane meanwhile said nothing, but turned slightly pink around the ears.

"I have a date," he mumbled. "With Maggie."

Blaine did a double take. "I thought you said you didn't like Maggie like that!"

"Well, I don't really know..." Shane lied. _But, _he thought, _I'm not totally lying. I really _don't _know what's going on with me_...

Blaine laughed. "You are so flustered right now! Seriously, chill out or else you're going to scare the poor girl away!"

_That might not be such a bad thing, _Shane thought. Instead, he turned to his brother and said, "And this is coming from all the experience _you _have?" Instantly, Shane felt guilty for even thinking that. He didn't really mean it, but the look on Blaine's face killed him.

"Fine, whatever. Have fun," Blaine said tonelessly before turning away and walking back into the house.

Blaine walked into the house and watched as Maggie and her mother pulled up outside of the house. He couldn't help but notice that Shane just didn't look all that happy.

A few minutes after Shane had left, Blaine checked around the house. His mother was out, probably shopping or something, and his father was working in his office. He probably wouldn't even notice if the house caught on fire, let alone whether either of his sons was present. Blaine pulled out his phone and texted Micah.

_The coast is clear on my end. Can I come over now? - B_

A few minutes later, his phone beeped. Blaine picked it up and read the message.

_Yep, come whenever you want. Erin just texted me too. Shes coming from her meet. - M_

Blaine exited the house, grabbed his bike from its hiding place in the bushes, and off for Micah's house.

* * *

><p>Blaine had never been to Micah's house before and he didn't know what to expect. It was smaller than his, like Erin's, and it was only a one story house. But it had a beautifully well-kept garden that Blaine could imagine Mrs. Randall sitting in and working on, and it seemed to be a nice neighborhood.<p>

Blaine approached the house just as another car pulled out. Erin had just left the car and was now running toward Blaine, ready to engulf him in a sweaty hug.

"Oof, Erin, I'm still on my bike!" Blaine said as she squeezed the life out of the short boy. "And, by the way, you smell _great_."

"Aww, thanks, Blaine. You're so sweet!" Erin responded sarcastically, making sure to flip her hair in Blaine's eyes. He eyes then fell on his bike, and suddenly her face clouded over.

"I just can't stand them!" she exclaimed, as if continuing a conversation that they had been having only moments before. But Blaine knew exactly what she meant. He nodded in agreement; everything had already been said.

The front door banged open and Micah came outside with Blaine's bulging bag. "You know, you're actually supposed to come to the door when you get to a person's house. They don't usually watch for guests," he said.

"Well, thankfully you do," Erin shot back.

"Yeah, well only this time! I didn't want my parents to see Blaine's bike. I doubt they'd approve of my hanging out with him if they knew."

Blaine looked down at the bike that he was still perched on and shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure we can do this here? I mean, if you parents find out... maybe we should go somewhere else?"

"No, here is fine. All the words will be off by the end of today, right?"

Blaine nodded. Micah extracted the piece of paper that the man in the bike shop had given to Blaine with the instructions on how to repaint his bike. "Wow, this is a kind of long process," he remarked.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Is there somewhere that I can store my bike so your parents won't see it overnight?"

"We have a shed out back, no one ever goes in there."

As Blaine began the tiresome process of degreasing and sanding his bike, Erin and Micah casually chatted.

"So, what's up with the Rebecca girl?" Micah asked Erin.

"Why do you assume I know any more than you two do?" Erin shot back. Blaine grinned and she shot him a threatening look.

"Maybe because you couldn't take your eyes off her," Blaine said deviously. Micah nodded in agreement.

"All I know is that she goes by Becca and goes to Sacred Heart. That's _all_."

"But you _want _to know more," Blaine said, and ducked to avoid the tennis ball that Erin promptly threw at his head.

Micah let the topic drop and the three lapsed into silence.

* * *

><p>"So, why did you ask me out?" Maggie asked Shane. The two were sitting at a table in the back of Justine's Cafe having just ordered their food.<p>

"Because I like you...?" Shane responded, only the slightest hint of doubt in his answer.

"Really?" Maggie asked again. "Because, it's not that I don't like you, I do. And you're definitely one of my best friends, and you're a _really _good kisser. It's just that...I don't know. I just never thought you were interested."

"Well, I am," Shane said, slightly defensively.

"Are you?" Maggie asked quietly. "Because I wouldn't be offended if you weren't."

"Just drop it, okay?" Shane said, looking around for the waitress who would hopefully be bringing their food over soon to serve as a distraction.

Maggie simply raised her eyebrows, but said nothing more. She didn't go to the same school as Shane, maybe he acted differently there than he did at the dance studio. But she had seen him on New Year's Eve. She had seen the way he kept stealing glances at Blaine's friend.

* * *

><p>"This really sucks," came Blaine's muffled voice from inside the shed in Micah's backyard. Micah and Erin sat outside in the grass, chatting about anything they could think of.<p>

"You're the one who wanted to do it in there!" Erin called back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, but no one told me how gross it was in going to be in here. Plus, this is hard! Are you sure you don't want to help?"

"Yes," both Erin and Micah replied.

Micah turned back to Erin and quietly asked, "So, if the Becca girl...leaned the same way you do, would you ask her out?"

Erin blushed profusely. "If she was also lesbian, yes. I mean, I don't really know her, but she's...well, she's really hot. And she runs, and she seems really nice. Plus, she practically saved Blaine's life, so she's probably a good person." Erin found herself grinning like an idiot even at the thought of Becca.

Micah laughed. Erin rarely let her guards down enough to become this flustered. The only other times he had seen her this vulnerable were when the girls would tease her.

"Hey!" Blaine shouted from inside the shed. "Erin! I meant to ask you, will you do another date with me? Because Shane's going on a date with Maggie, so now I probably will have to do the same thing again..."

"Shane's going out with the dance girl?" Micah asked.

"Apparently," Blaine replied. "Anyway, Erin?"

"Yeah, sure. When?"

"Next weekend maybe? It doesn't really matter."

"That works for me. Want to see another movie?"

"Whatever you want."

* * *

><p>Shane and Maggie walked down the street toward the movie theatre. <em>Why am I so nervous? I should be doing this, right? <em>he thought anxiously. They passed a couple of kids that Shane vaguely recognized as being a year ahead of Blaine at Stanton. They were holding hands and chatting animatedly. _Should I be holding Maggie's hand too? She probably expects me to. Crap_. Impulsively, Shane's hand shot out and grabbed Maggie's wrist with perhaps a little more force than he intended. She looked up at him in surprise, and he tried to force a smile. She smiled back knowingly.

Shane pulled some bills out of his wallet at the movie theatre, not looking anyone in the eye. Especially Maggie.

A burly boy passed the two as they walked to the theatre and shoved Shane. "Hey, look! It's the fag's brother," he spat at Shane. When he saw Shane and Maggie's intertwined hands, he added, "At least one person in you family's normal."

Shane turned bright red, but didn't dare say anything back.

Maggie didn't say anything about the incident even though it would have been impossible for her not to have overheard. But as they entered the theatre, she began to understand more about what was going on. There was a lot more riding on Shane's "normalcy" than what first appeared.

* * *

><p>When the movie let out, Maggie and Shane walked over to the local park. It was still mostly light outside, and her mother wouldn't be picking them up for another half hour.<p>

"Shane?" she asked carefully.

"What?" _Crap, that wasn't supposed to sound so harsh._

"Don't get mad at me if I'm wrong. And I'm not...accusing you of anything, but... I don't really know how to say this..."

"What?" Shane asked, tone much softer than before. He smiled at the struggling girl.

"Do you – do you like girls?" She instantly lowered her eyes.

Shane was floored by the question. He liked Maggie, but he liked her just like he liked Blaine. And then there was that friend of Blaine's... But he _should _like girls, right? _No, _the truthful voice in his head replied, _Blaine doesn't like girls. Maybe it's genetic?_

Maggie shifted uncomfortably next to Shane. _I hope I didn't offend him or anything, but why __would he be offended? His brother's gay and he's fine with that_. The long silence was making her nervous.

"I...don't know," Shane admitted finally.

Maggie breathed a sigh of relief, and squeezed the hand that she still held. "It's okay if you don't," she said. "I won't tell anyone. And you're still one of my best friends."

Shane felt as if a giant weight had been lifted from his chest just from admitting his doubts to someone else. He smiled back at Maggie. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Blaine's bike was stored and drying in Micah's back shed when he and Erin bade goodbye to their friend. Erin's mother was giving him a ride home since he didn't have his bike. Tomorrow, Sunday, he planned to get a ride from Erin, as she would also be going back to Micah's house. He would probably have to walk to school on Monday and go home with Micah to retrieve his bike.<p>

Moments after Blaine had settled down on his bed with his computer, he heard the front door open. He saw Shane walk quickly past his open bedroom door and shut himself into his own room.

Shane made a brief and mostly mute appearance at dinner before running back upstairs, claiming that he had homework to finish. He offered almost no details about his date with Maggie, despite Bart's interest in the topic.

Blaine didn't see Shane at all Sunday morning, although Shane didn't usually rise until noon anyway. However, Blaine knew that something was off with his brother. Their parents might not have noticed it, but it was usually pretty difficult to get Shane to _stop _talking. He ruminated slightly over this until Erin picked him up, and every thought of his younger brother was driven from his mind.

Blaine's work on his bike was easier today, plus he could do it in the open air of the backyard. Micah's parents were at church that morning, and then they were going shopping. They wouldn't be back for at least a few hours.

After a few hours' work on the bike while Erin and Micah watched, Blaine suggested that they all take a break. The trio went into the kitchen to look for something to snack on.

"Why is it that you can have a kitchen and pantry filled entirely with food, and yet there is still nothing to eat?" Micah asked after going through all of the cupboards and the refrigerator.

"Why don't we make something?" Erin suggested, walking over to the shelf of cook books.

Blaine shrugged in response and turned to Micah. "Your house, your decision," Blaine told the other boy.

"What can you make?" Micah asked.

"I dunno, what do you want?"

"Something sweet!" Blaine suggested.

"Sure," Micah agreed.

"Cookies? Or maybe brownies?" Erin suggested. "I know a really killer brownie recipe, actually," she said.

"That sounds great," Blaine said before collapsing onto a chair.

"Hey, you have to help, too!" Erin scolded.

Erin sent Blaine and Micah all around the kitchen, collecting ingredients and supplies. Then she directed them as they began to mix together the batter.

"No! Blaine, a _teaspoon_, not a _tablespoon_!" Erin called, catching Blaine's wrist just as he was about to pour a heaping tablespoon of salt into the batter. "Seriously, have you never been in a kitchen before?"

"Sorry, I never learned to cook! My dad thinks taking home ec. will turn me gay-"

"Too late for that," Micah cut in.

"-and my mom does all the cooking in our house. Either that, or we order take-out."

Erin rolled here eyes. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but, please, for the sake of these brownies, stop helping us!"

Micah laughed as Blaine sat down on the chair he had vacated only a few minutes earlier. Soon, the smell of chocolate was wafting through the kitchen.

"How much work do you have left on your bike?" Micah asked.

"Not too much. I just have to finish painting and then wait for it to dry."

"Can you finish it in the next half hour?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Why don't you do that while the brownies bake and then hide it away. I'm not really sure when my parents will get home," Micah said.

* * *

><p>Erin's mother dropped Blaine off at his house around 6 that evening. They had stayed at Micah's much longer than they'd intended.<p>

When Blaine returned home, he stopped in the living room to greet his parents.

"Who were you out with?" Marlene asked.

"Erin," Blaine responded, deciding to leave out Micah so his father would think it was another date.

"How is she doing? She was such a lovely girl," Marlene said.

"Good. She got first place at her track meet yesterday."

"I'm glad you and Shane have both found someone you like," Bart inputted.

Blaine hesitated, then asked, "Have you noticed anything different about Shane lately?"

Marlene looked at her son in concern, but Bart brushed it off. "He's probably just been nervous about this dancer, what's her name?"

"Maggie," Marlene supplied.

"Right. Her. I guess he's not as confident around girls as you are," Bart said before turning back to the magazine that he'd been reading.

"That's probably it," Blaine said, knowing full well that it couldn't possibly be the problem.

"Have you eaten already honey?" Marlene asked. "Because we just finished eating, but there's some chicken in the fridge that you can heat up if you're hungry."

"No, Erin and I ate." That part was true; Erin, Blaine, and Micah had eaten with Micah's family.

"Oh, good," Marlene responded. Then she, too, turned back to her book.

Blaine went up to his bedroom and tried doing his homework for a little while. But even the threat of a failing grade from Strickland if his essay wasn't absolutely perfect couldn't keep him focused for more than a half an hour.

Finally, Blaine gave up on his homework. He had mostly finished it anyway. He sat down his books, and walked over to his guitar. Whenever he was particularly worried or bored or confused or anything, really, he would simply play around with it for a while. He had even begun writing some songs.

* * *

><p>In the room next door, Shane was furiously practicing his dance routines, trying to keep his mind off of the conversation he'd had with Maggie. <em>There's nothing wrong with not liking girls, <em>Shane thought desperately. _Blaine doesn't, and he gets along just fine..._ But Shane knew that wasn't true. Blaine rarely told Shane what went on at Stanton, but Shane heard enough from his classmates. _What will happen if I'm gay too?_


	15. Chapter 15

Monday morning, Blaine woke to his alarm blaring at 6 am. He groaned a rolled over on his side when he remembered why it was waking him up extra early. The bike. The words that the jock had written. Blaine didn't even have the faintest idea who the boy was, other than one of the many football players who needed something more to distract him now that football season was over.

Slowly, Blaine pulled himself out of bed and carried himself downstairs to the kitchen. His parents would be coming down in a few minutes. They probably wouldn't even notice that their eldest son was up earlier than usual, or that he was walking to school instead of biking. Blaine knew that his parents loved him, but sometimes...sometimes he wished they'd show it more. But they were so busy at work, and work rarely ever ended when they left their respective offices. Instead of showering their sons with affection, they gave them gifts, as if that was an appropriate replacement. But that was also probably why Blaine and Shane were so close. They rarely fought because they were really all each other had. Until recently. Blaine knew that he and Shane were growing apart. Maybe it was because they were in separate schools. _Maybe, _Blaine thought, _maybe it's because of me. I know he said he didn't mind, but maybe he sees how everyone else treats me now... _He shook his head, as if trying to expel the thought from his mind.

* * *

><p>Jonathan Daniels, better known as JD, was not having a good couple of weeks. His girlfriend broke up with him. He was failing English, and might be put on academic probation. He'd had to spend most of his lunch hour one day last week discussing tutoring options with his advisor. And then when he was going back to lunch, that stupid fag mouthed off to him.<p>

When Jordan Parsons heard that Alexis had broken up with JD, he went to find his friend immediately. But instead of words of comfort, he offered his friend ridicule. "Seriously, dude. That girl had you _whipped_! You should be thankful. Anyway, why do you care? There are plenty of girls in this school willing to put out...I can introduce you if you want."

JD did not like anyone insinuating that he was, or had ever been, "whipped." And then to top it all off, that little faggot shit Anderson just had to talk back to him. If anyone ever found out, he'd be a laughingstock. So instead, JD decided to retaliate.

He'd graffitied the fag's bike, but he knew that wasn't enough. No one saw. If he was going to make himself one of the most formidable guys on campus, he had to do something big, something public. He had to ruin the fucking queer.

* * *

><p>Blaine knew that he should have put more effort into the essay for Strickland. He'd heard that Strickland always graded the hardest on the Shakespeare unit, so to add that onto his bias against Blaine meant that a paper that was only okay in any other class was a failure in Strickland's class.<p>

_Oh well, _Blaine thought as he walked to the classroom, holding his paper gingerly in front of him. _Too late now._

Blaine was too engrossed in his own thoughts to notice that the students around him in the hallway seemed to be parting. Once he finally looked up, it was too late. The jock that had graffitied his bike was slowly walking down the hallway toward him. There was murder in his eyes.

Blaine felt fear course through his body, and he turned to take a different route to class. Two other football players blocked his path. Gulping, Blaine turned back around to face the boy approaching him.

"You think you can make a fool of me, queer, and get away with it?" JD growled at Blaine.

Blaine was petrified with fear. He'd done nothing of the sort; no one had even seen the jock's attempt at lunch the other day.

"You think you can just keep walking around school and spreading your fairy dust everywhere?"

The hallway was now almost empty. Unfortunately, there were no classrooms near; this was a segment of halls devoted solely to lockers.

Blaine said nothing, trying to seem stronger than he really was.

JD's mouth curled into a terrible smile. "What do you have there?" he mocked, grabbing the paper that Blaine clutched in his hands. "_Love and Tragedy: Shakespeare's _Romeo and Juliet," he read from the top of Blaine's paper in a mocking tone. Suddenly, he voice became much angrier. "What the hell do you think you know about love, you freaky little fag?" he practically shouted. Then, making perfectly sure that Blaine was watching, JD held up the paper and slowly ripped it down the center. He grinned as he saw Blaine's eyes widen, and continued ripping until the essay was no more than just a few scraps of paper on the ground. He and his two friends laughed at the anguished look on Blaine's face - That had been his only copy of the essay! Strickland would never accept it late! - before JD shoved Blaine roughly onto the ground and whispered, "This isn't close to over, homo."

Once the three figures had exited the hallway, Blaine sat up in a panic. _What am I supposed to do now? Not only am I late to class, but I also don't have my paper. If I turn it in late, he'll have an excuse to take off as many points as he wants! But if I just don't show up to class, Strickland probably won't even accept my paper at all._

In the end, Blaine settled on going to class late, without a note. He'd try to explain to Strickland that his bike was broken and he'd been forced to walk to school, and could he _please_ turn in the essay tomorrow? It was a long shot, but better than nothing.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Anderson, you have consistently shown yourself to be underachieving, you frequently arrive late to my class, and you cause disturbances in the halls. Why should I allow you to turn in you paper late when all of you classmates managed to arrive on time <em>with <em>their papers?"

Blaine wanted to scream at his teacher. Every claim that he threw at Blaine was unfair and untrue. He worked harder than every other student in the class just to achieve mediocre grades! Other students attacked _him _in the halls! And although he did occasionally arrive late, it was never his fault!

"I'm – I'm sorry, Mr. Strickland," Blaine muttered to the ground. He didn't trust himself to meet his teacher's eyes. "I was in such a hurry to leave my house that I left my paper on my desk. I swear that I did finish it! I have my rough draft here with me!" With that, Blaine produced an unfinished copy of the paper from his bag. "I can try to run home at lunch time to grab it," he offered.

Strickland looked cooly down at the boy standing in front of him. The rest of the class was supposed to be reading their newest book, _Of Mice and Men_, but he could see many of the sneaking glances at the two standing in the front of the room. "You may turn in your paper tomorrow, but this is the only time I will allow such behavior. You will automatically be docked 10% for lateness. And you will serve detention after school all this week. I am tired of your consistent lack of effort in this class. If I do not see you putting forth an effort to improve, I will have to call a conference with your parents. Go to your seat and begin the assignment."

* * *

><p>"I just can't stand him!" Blaine said loudly as he and Erin made their way through the lunch line. "I mean, he stand there and accuses me of all this – this crap knowing full well that none of it is true! And now I have detention all week? It's not fair."<p>

"Hey, calm down," Erin said, laying a hand on Blaine's arm. "I get it Blaine. It sucks. But you can't give them the satisfaction of knowing they've gotten to you."

Blaine stared at her like she had grown two heads. "_Gotten to me?_" he asked incredulously. "Erin, they've succeeded in completely fucking up my grade in English! I cannot fail, my parents would kill me!"

"Relax, Blaine, it's just one paper. You're not going to fail," Erin told him soothingly. "I just meant that they want you to get pissed off so that you'll come after _them _and make their job easier."

"Oh," Blaine said sheepishly. "I hadn't thought of that."

The two carefully exited the cafeteria. Although the usual taunts and jeers followed them, no one jumped out at them.

Moments after Erin and Blaine sat down on the back steps, Micah came running around the corner of the building. He looked the opposite of his usual calm self.

"Blaine!" he said when he saw his friend.

Blaine looked up at him in surprise. "What happened?"

Micah sat down and began to gather his breath. "I was at my locker getting my lunch-"

Both Erin and Blaine winced at this. More than once had Micah been unceremoniously body slammed into his locker or had his lunch stolen while he had been standing there unaware.

Micah rolled his eyes. "-so yeah, they took my lunch, but thats not the point! Do you know that football player, JD?"

"You mean the one that Blaine stood up to so he graffitied Blaine's bike?" Erin asked.

"Yeah. Well, he and a couple of his friends came up to me, and you know they did the usual and everything, but then he bent down and he was just like, 'You better tell that fag friend of yours to stop spreading his fairy dust around or we're going to beat the gay out of him ourselves!'"

Erin and Blaine were silent as Micah finished telling his story.

"Wow, Blaine, I'm sorry that I ever told you that you should try to stand up for yourself," Erin said quietly.

Blaine gave Erin a look that clearly said _what-are-you-talking-about?_

Erin sighed and continued, "Remember when we went to the movie and I told you that you should try to be a bit more forceful?"

"Come on, Erin, you know this isn't your fault. Plus, this isn't even a big deal." When his two friends looked at him like he was crazy, Blaine elaborated. "Seriously, when does a week go by when we're not being threatened in one way or another? Plus, he can't beat me too bad on school grounds."

Neither Erin or Micah seemed too reassured by what Blaine had said, but nevertheless, they turned back to their lunches.

"Want my chips, Micah?" Erin offered.

* * *

><p>Blaine was halfway through his last class of the day when he realized that having detention meant that he wouldn't be able to go to Micah's and get his bike back until next week. <em>Damn it<em>, he thought sullenly. Why was he getting double punishment for something that wasn't even his fault?

After the bell rang, Blaine slowly dragged himself to the detention room on the first floor, located just down the hall from the gym and locker rooms. _Great_.

He sat at a desk in the middle of the room with the three other students who had detention. Mrs. Clarke, a government teacher, stood in the front of the room and began to explain the rules. "You are to stay in your desks. You may do your homework. You may not leave the room, you may not talk to each other. No cell phones or iPods are allowed. Detention will be over at 3:45, at which point you may go."

Blaine begrudgingly pulled his math textbook from his backpack and began working out the complicated proofs.

When the minute hand on the clock finally reached the nine, Mrs. Clarke once again stood in front of the four silent students. "Detention is over for today, you are all dismissed," she said and watched the four students troop out of the classroom with a slightly disapproving look on her face.

Blaine adjusted his backpack on his shoulders and set out on the walk home. He didn't mind it, he was just frustrated with everything now. So many things that he had no control over, but he was the one who had to pay for it. How was that fair in any way? He pulled out his phone to text Micah.

_Can my bike stay at ur house until next monday? Detention all week. - B_

Blaine slipped the phone into his pocket and turned the corner. A few cars passed him, but he paid them no mind. Blaine had already turned on his iPod and was now walking to the beat of his music. Blaine didn't notice that one car that passed him pulled over ahead of him. Three large figures stepped out of the car. When Blaine heard the doors slam and looked up, it was already too late. He was far off of school property. He doubted that anyone was home right now.

"Well, well, well...look what we have here," JD said as he walked toward the now frozen boy.

Blaine recognized the other two boys as Jordan Parsons and Bill Greene. Both were on the football team. Bill was also on the wrestling team. Jordan was a junior, Bill and JD were seniors. All this useless information flooded Blaine's head as he tried to figure out if there was anything he could do to escape.

"Looks like the fag's all alone now," Bill said. The three boys now surrounded Blaine.

"Didja get my warning, fairy?" JD said. "Your little homo friend was _so _helpful."

Blaine felt his cell phone vibrate against his leg. Micah's response. If only he could just let his friend know somehow. He wasn't really sure what the boys were going to do to him.

"You know what?" JD said. "I think we really ought to let the whole world know what's wrong with this little creep." Jordan and Bill laughed with him.

Blaine was desperate. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was bad. He tried to run for it.

"Too bad you're not as fast as your dyke friend," Jordan said, pushing Blaine back to the center of the triangle.

"No one will care about us pounding you when they know how messed up you are," JD said with a wicked grin spreading across his face. The three boys slowly closed in on Blaine. Jordan lashed out first, punching Blaine in the gut. He keeled over, but was forced to stand by rough hands that were holding him up. Standing in front of him was JD, strangely enough holding a Sharpie in his hand.

"Let's tell everyone how much of a perv you are, fag," JD said maliciously. Blaine had no idea what the older boy was doing, but shut his eyes tightly as he moved in closer with the marker. "Aww, the widdle fairy is scared," he taunted.

Blaine felt the tip of the marker make contact with the skin of his face. He felt as JD made every deliberate stroke. When he finished, the other boys let go of Blaine, and he fell to the ground. It looked as if they boys were going to leave him alone, but at the last second, JD turned and aimed a powerful kick at Blaine's side.

A few minutes after the boys had gotten back into their car and drove away, Blaine forced himself to get up. He wasn't too badly hurt in retrospect. Sure, the punch had winded him, and he was still struggling from where JD had kicked him, and there would be a huge bruise there, but it could have been worse. All they'd done was draw something on his face...his face. Suddenly, the words the boys had said came back to Blaine: _Let's tell everyone how much of a perv you are, fag_.

Fear overtook his entire body. Blaine ducked his head down and began to run home in earnest.

* * *

><p>It was worse than he'd expected.<p>

Blaine was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, shirt off, admiring the large bruise that covered a significant part of his abdominal area. What was worse was his face.

His face. He couldn't cover it or hide it without anyone questioning him. It was right there for everyone to see. He could hardly bring himself to look up at it in the mirror.

Slowly, Blaine raised his eyes until they rested on his face. His pale skin was flushed still, whether from embarrassment or his run, he had no idea. Scrawled across his forehead, his cheeks, in the same untidy hand as his bike was the word fag. Repeated over and over as if to make a point.

From the moment he had seen his entire reflection, Blaine had been frozen, unable to do anything but try not to stare.

But now something interrupted his reverie. A beeping of the security system. A door opening. Footsteps coming up the stairs. Blaine threw himself across the room and managed to slam his door shut just in time.

The loud slam of the door shocked Shane. "Blaine?" he called tentatively toward his older brother's room.

"What?" Blaine called back as casually as he could manage.

"Um, is something up?"

"No – no, I'm fine. Uh, how was dance?"

"It was fine... Listen, are you sure you're okay? You don't usually slam your door on me..."

Blaine stood on the opposite side of the door and debated opening it up and letting his brother see his shame. Before he came to any decision, however, the doorknob began to turn. _Damn,_ he thought bitterly, _I forgot the lock._ Blaine knew that fighting against Shane was a losing battle, so he hurriedly turned around before his brother entered the room.

"Blaine? You didn't answer. Are you okay?" Shane stepped over the threshold of Blaine's room. He saw his brother standing, shirtless, with his back to him. Suddenly, Blaine's body began to shake, and he was consumed by sobs. He began to sink to the ground. Shane, reacting instantly, reached out to catch his brother.

"Blaine?"

But the older boy shoved his brother's warm, strong hands from his arms.

"Please, Shane, just go," Blaine pleaded. But he didn't want Shane to leave. He wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, and have his brother - the only person in his house who _knew -_ comfort him.

"No way!" Shane replied indignantly, and for once Blaine was thankful that his brother hardly ever listened to anyone. "What's going on?"

Shane had not yet tried to approach Blaine again. He was crouching a few feet away from his brother, his backpack and dance bag laying abandoned by the door.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Blaine began to straighten up. His head hung down, unruly dark curls shielding his face, as he turned around to face his brother.

The first thing Shane saw was the bruise. "Holy...who did this to you?" he asked Blaine, a look of disgust crossing his face.

"That's not it," Blaine said so faintly that Shane could barely tell that he had spoken at all.

Shane looked up to his brother's face, meaning to ask him what more the bullies could have done to him. But when he saw the black words on his brother's face, he was struck mute.

Somehow, Shane's silence spurred Blaine brain. Suddenly he turned and made his way back towards the bathroom. He turned on the water faucet and began rubbing soap furiously into his hands.

"They...they did that because you're gay," Shane said slowly. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. They've done stuff like this before," Blaine said, not meeting his brother's eyes. He took a deep breath and began rubbing the soap all over his face before continuing. "It's just – if dad sees this...I can't just say 'Oh, it was a joke' or anything...and I can't tell dad. Yet. You know what he's like." Still Shane did not speak. Blaine was finding it very difficult to explain to his brother why this was so much worse than before. "It was just the way they cornered me...and they had full power over me. They could have done _anything_ and no one would have come..."

"You've got to tell someone," Shane finally manged to say.

"Who? No one cares about me because I'm a...fag," Blaine said.

Shane looked down at his feet and walked over to Blaine's bed. The older boy rinsed off his face and began furiously scrubbing. He toweled off his face and then looked in the mirror. The words were still there, emphasized by the burning red of his face, but slightly faded. He sighed, and decided he could clean the rest of it later. He picked up a sweatshirt from the ground and pulled it on before reentering his bedroom.

Shane was sitting on the bed, staring at his feet, as if trying to memorize the exact location of every stitch on his sneakers.

"Earth to Shane?" Blaine said, waving his hand in front of Shane's face. When the younger boy looked up, Blaine notice the tears in his eyes.

"Shane? What's wrong?" Blaine asked as he sat down next to his brother.

"I hate it."

"What?" Blaine asked, suddenly worried.

"That they do this to you. Just because – just because you're gay!"

"Really, Shane, it's not as bad as it looks," Blaine said, trying to soothe his brother.

"But that's it! It should be that bad. But it isn't because people think that it's wrong that you like guys. And I'm scared."

"Scared?" Blaine asked, thoroughly perplexed now.

"Blaine, I don't want..." Shane looked away now. "I don't want that to happen to me."

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked.

Shane looked back up at his brother now. "Blaine, I think I'm gay," he practically whispered.


	16. Chapter 16

Blaine stared back at his brother, mouth hanging open slightly. "You – you are?" he asked numbly.

"I don't know. But yeah, I think so. I mean, I was hanging with Maggie, and she...I don't know, she just asked me, and I just don't know. But I think I am!"

"Wow," Blaine said. "I mean, this is great and I'm really happy for you, but I never expected this."

Shane grinned slightly. "I know, right? If you thought dad was going to be unhappy about you, just think how pissed he'll be when it's both of us."

Blaine looked fearful for a moment. "Shane, we can't tell dad. Especially not both of us. You know what he thinks. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to tell him, but...he's just so...traditional."

"Don't worry, I wasn't actually suggesting we...Anyway, I'm not really sure yet."

"Are you?"

"Okay, fine. I'm pretty sure. I just don't want to come out just yet. I mean, no offense, it's great that you and Micah and Erin are so happy as you are, but I kinda don't want this to happen to me," Shane said, indicating Blaine's bruised side and graffitied face.

"It's fine. I understand," Blaine said before reaching over to his brother and pulling him into a tight hug.

Shane hugged Blaine back, but felt the older boy recoil slightly and wince in pain. "What?"

"Sorry," Blaine said, rubbing his side. "It's just a little sore."

"Right. Sorry! Anyway, I should go and you should wash your face...dad'll be home soon," Shane said, rushing out of the room.

Blaine stood by his bed for a moment more, head spinning after what his brother had just said.

* * *

><p>Shane collapsed onto his bed the moment he entered his room. He was so exhausted, mentally and physically. But he felt so unusually happy. <em>Gay<em>, he thought and laughed slightly. _So this is what it feels like to just let everything go?_ Shane grinned. He was sure, but he'd just had so much trouble accepting it, and then to just say it out loud to Blaine. He felt like he'd just run a marathon. Of course, the two hour dance practice didn't exactly help.

And then Shane let his thoughts travel to Micah. He no longer was afraid to think of the boy now that he'd said the words out loud. He was tall, and handsome, and intelligent, and there was just something about his eyes, the way they seemed to glow.

"I'm gay," Shane practiced to the blank wall of his bedroom. _But no one can know._

* * *

><p>Blaine stood in front of his bathroom mirror, scrubbing furiously at the words inked on his face. His curls covered his forehead mostly, but there were still legible black marks on his cheeks. Anyone could read what it said. Including his father.<p>

But that wasn't really what was worrying Blaine. It was Shane. Not that Shane was gay. Blaine was actually so proud of his brother – even _he _hadn't actually been able to come out on his own – but he was worried. He still had the protective instinct, and if anyone found out that Shane was gay, then they would tease and abuse him as mercilessly as they did him. Shane already got some secondhand abuse from the boys in his class, calling him the fag's brother, but no physical violence yet... If they hit Shane, either because of him or because they found out that he was gay too, Blaine didn't think he'd be able to live with himself.

There was a light tapping on the door, and Blaine looked up to find Shane standing there.

"I thought this might help," the boy said, holding out a small bottle. It was their mother's concealer. Shane must have taken it from their parents' bathroom. "If you can't wash it all off, you can try to cover it up at least," Shane said.

"Thanks," Blaine said, taking the bottle. He dried off his face, and poured some of the cold cream into his hands. He began rubbing it over his face. It couldn't completely cover the words, but they were now so faint that you could only notice them if you really tried.

"Much better," Shane commented before leaving the room.

Blaine wanted to call out to his brother, ask him to wait so that they could talk. But he wasn't sure what to say.

* * *

><p>Micah was worried. Blaine still hadn't responded to his text which he'd sent almost three hours ago. His phone was sitting next to him, silently reminding him of this. Finally, he picked it up and texted both of his friends.<p>

To Erin, he wrote:

_Have u heard from Blaine? I texted him a while ago and he still hasn't replied. - M_

And to Blaine:

_did u get my text? Whats going on? - M_

Almost immediately, Micah's phone beeped. He pulled up the message, for once unhappy to see Erin's name on the small screen.

_No I haven't. Do u think somethings wrong? - E_

* * *

><p>Blaine felt his phone vibrate from inside his pocket. He'd almost forgotten that Micah had texted him earlier. He pulled out the phone and read the first message. Micah was offering to bring the bike back over to Blaine's house. As much as he didn't want to keep walking to school, Blaine also didn't want to cause any trouble for Micah. So he quickly texted his friend back.<p>

_No, im fine with walking. Sorry I didnt respond, I got distracted. - B_

He didn't know why he was hiding the most recent attack and Shane's revelation from his friends. But this felt much more personal than anything that had happened before.

* * *

><p>Micah sighed with relief when he got the message from Blaine. He set to texting Erin, to assure her that everything was alright.<p>

* * *

><p>Erin called Blaine a few minutes later.<p>

"Hey," he said upon answering the phone.

"Hey. How was detention?"

"It was...okay, I guess. Pretty boring."

"I can imagine. Anyway, I was just calling about this weekend."

"This weekend?" Blaine was perplexed.

"Our second 'date,' remember?"

"Oh, right," Blaine said. With everything that had gone on in the past few hours alone, it was understandable that he had forgotten. "You're still free?"

"Of course I am, hon. I'd do anything for you," Erin said sarcastically. Blaine seemed more distant and distracted. She was trying to loosen him up, to see if he'd clue her in.

Blaine laughed weakly. "Great. Want me to pick you up again?"

"Sure. Listen, is something wrong? You just seem...different."

"Yeah-no, I'm fine. I'm just tired. Long day."

Erin sensed that Blaine was still holding something back, but she let it go. "Okay then. Just keep out of JD's way, alright?"

"You don't need to keep reminding me," Blaine snapped back.

"Chill, Blaine, I know. I'm just worried about what he'll do to you," Erin responded defensively. Something was seriously up with Blaine.

"Sorry, it's just been a long day," he repeated quietly. "Listen, I should really do my homework. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Bye, Blaine!"

"Bye."

As soon as Blaine hung up his phone, he wanted to kick himself for being such an idiot. _Why did I snap at Erin like that?_ he thought desperately. It seemed like everything that had transpired in the past few hours had finally come together and was starting to take a toll on Blaine. He was pissed about Strickland and his paper, he was pissed that JD got away with everything, he was pissed that he had been beaten up _again_, and he was worried for his brother. Erin's call had just...sent him over the edge.

* * *

><p>Dinner that evening was much quieter than usual. Shane barely looked his father in the eyes, afraid that with one look, Bart would know his son's deepest and newest secret. Blaine kept his head down so that his parents had minimal opportunity to scrutinize his face and potentially spot the faint words that JD had written. All in all, the meal passed way to slowly for either boy's liking.<p>

After dinner, Blaine went back to his bathroom to take a shower and try washing his face off again. By the end of the evening, he figured, his face would be raw from all the scrubbing.

By the time Blaine was settling down to bed, the words on his face were almost invisible. All that remained was the painful bruise on his side.

The next morning, Blaine made sure to place his essay for Strickland in his backpack before heading downstairs. As a precautionary measure, he also applied more of his mother's concealer, just in case the harsh school lights made the marks stand out.

After a rushed breakfast and quick goodbyes to his parents, Blaine went out the front door and began the walk to school.

When Blaine was about halfway there, he heard a car slowing down behind him. He tensed, remembering the car that the three jocks had driven the day before. But the car pulled up next to him and Erin's face stuck out the window.

"Hi Blaine! I missed the bus today, so my mom's driving me. Want a ride?" she shouted at him.

Blaine grinned, glad that Erin seemed to have forgotten, or at least overlooked, their phone conversation the night before. "Sure," he replied, opening the back door. "Thanks, Mrs. Delaney!"

The two entered the library to find Micah sitting at the back table reading _The Scarlet Letter_. Blaine took one look at the cover of the book, and shuddered. _Whatever God there is up there_, Blaine thought bitterly, _you have a cruel sense of humor._

"Good book?" Erin asked, the slightest hint of sarcasm in her voice. She and Blaine were always making fun of Micah for being such a bookworm.

"Yeah. It's great!" he responded, ignoring Erin's slight cynicism. "This woman, Hester Prynne, has to walk around with this A on her clothing to tell everyone what she is and she's still so strong -"

"Can you lay off the book talk for one day, please?" Blaine interrupted.

Erin shot Blaine a dirty look, while Micah simply looked a little hurt.

"Sorry," Blaine said, sinking his head into his hand. "I just had a really long night."

Erin looked closely at her friend, and almost laughed. "Wait, Blaine – are you wearing _makeup_?"

"What?" Micah asked, also laughing now and inspecting Blaine closely.

"Since when did you become _that _gay?" Erin asked.

"No! I mean, it's not-" Blaine spluttered, face growing red.

"He's definitely wearing concealer; it's not even his shade!" Erin said gleefully.

"Shut up, please!" Blaine finally managed to shout. A few heads turned when he said this, but soon the others in the library turned back to their own tasks.

"Hey, Blaine, you know we were just joking with you," Micah said.

"Sorry," Blaine said, closing his eyes. "It was just a really long day yesterday."

"So you wore concealer...?" Erin asked, trying to be slightly more tactful than before.

Blaine was silent and didn't look at either of his friends.

"Wait – JD didn't catch up to you, did he?" Micah asked with a gasp.

Slowly, Blaine nodded.

"He gave you a black eye?" Erin guessed.

Blaine shook his head.

"So then what?" Micah asked.

Blaine took a deep breath. "He and Jordan and Bill caught up to me when I was walking home after detention. And they punched me in the stomach and kicked me in the side."

Erin and Micah locked eyes. They were both thinking the same thing: O_kay, so they kicked you, but what does that have to do with your face?_

"But, um, then JD said he wanted everyone to know what I am, so he took out a marker and he wrote...he wrote 'fag' all over my face."

"Holy..." Erin muttered.

"Did anyone see? Did your dad...?" Micah asked.

"No. Just Shane. Thank God. I mostly washed it off, but you could still kinda see it, so I put on my mom's concealer so it would be less noticeable."

Micah looked down at the book in his hands. "Wow. Good timing. Well, not _good_ good, but you know what I mean," he said in a rush before stuffing the book into his backpack. "Ironic."

Blaine smiled weakly. "Yeah, that's kinda what I thought..."

"Why didn't you tell us last night?" Erin asked.

"I don't know, it was just...hard, you know?"

Micah nodded fervently, remembering how he felt after the jocks had pushed him down the stairs.

"But we're always here for you, okay?" Erin said, this time fixing both boys with a glare. They both nodded, and the three friends shared a moment of silence together before the bell rang, signaling the start of the day.

* * *

><p>By the time Friday evening rolled around, Blaine's bruise had almost faded. It was still tender to the touch and a slightly revolting shade of yellow, but other than that he was fine. He'd survived detention, he hadn't gotten into any more trouble with Strickland, and JD had left him mostly alone. All in all, it was a good end to the week.<p>

Shane was in his room as Blaine was getting ready for his date with Erin. Shane was obviously worked up about something. He was usually energized, but now, he couldn't stop moving. It was driving Blaine absolutely insane.

"Oh my God, Shane, please stop moving for _one second_!" Blaine finally said as Shane almost crashed into Blaine.

"Sorry, I'm just a little...I don't know."

"Yeah, whatever. What are you even doing in y room, anyway?"

"I was bored?"

"And?"

"AndIwantedtoaskyousomething."

"What?"

Shane took a deep breath. "I. Wanted. To. Ask. You. Something."

Blaine gestured as if to say _go on_.

"Um, are you – are you and Micah dating?" Shane asked, immediately turning red at the ears.

Blaine gave him the strangest look. "Me and Micah? No, of course not." He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering. Because I saw you two were really close when we were watching the movies together..._and _I wanted to know what it was like – to be with a boy," Shane said, adding the last part as a second thought.

Blaine sat down on his bed. "I wish I knew," he admitted quietly to his brother.

Shane looked oddly relieved at Blaine's answer, which made him suspicious once again. "Why are you so curious about Micah?"

Shane looked away from his brother. Blaine noticed the pink creeping up his neck, though, and made the connection. "Oh. My. God."

"What?" Shane asked, trying to look innocent.

"You-"

"What?"

"Like-"

"No!"

"Micah!"

No response from Shane. Blaine grinned in triumph. "You like Micah?"

"I don't know," Shane finally whispered to his brother.

Blaine looked up at his brother's eyes, so confused and earnest. He had only just admitted his sexuality, and now he was trying to figure it all out.

"Blaine!" Bart's voice rang up the stairs.

"Oh, shoot!" Blaine said, jumping back up and finishing dressing. "Yeah, dad?" he shouted downstairs.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Just a minute, dad!" He turned to Shane. "Sorry, I gotta go, but we can talk later?"

Shane nodded. "Have fun!"

* * *

><p>Again Blaine went to Erin's door to pick her up for their 'date.' Again, the two held hands for Bart's sake. And again, he dropped them off downtown, this time outside of the movie theatre.<p>

Erin looked really nice, and Blaine could imagine that if he was straight, he'd probably want to date a girl like Erin. She was witty, and attractive, and she was just so passionate about whatever she did.

When Blaine's dad drove away, the two separated hands as before. Erin distractedly pulled at the hem of her black skirt. "Ugh. I hate wearing skirts," she said.

Blaine was about to respond when a voice from behind them said, "Why? You have really nice legs."

Both turned around to find Rebecca sitting on a bench behind them.

"What?" Erin said, turning slightly pink. Blaine grinned, remembering Erin's crush.

"You're a runner. You have awesome legs," Rebecca repeated, standing up now and approaching the two.

"Thanks, I guess," Erin said.

Rebecca smiled at the two. "Nice to see you two again."

"Yeah," Erin said absently.

Blaine decided to take over for his obviously smitten friend. "What are you doing here, Rebecca?"

"It's Becca," the girl corrected. "I just got off of work, and I was thinking about doing something when I saw the two of you. What were _you _doing?"

Now it was Blaine's turn to flush. "Oh. My dad doesn't really approve of being gay, so Erin kindly offered to be my girlfriend."

"I get it," Becca said. "If my parents, or anyone else for that matter, found out that I like girls...they'd probably say I was Satan or something."

This statement seemed to shock both Erin and Blaine.

"Wait, so you're...?" Erin began.

Becca laughed slightly. "Yeah, I'm lesbian too."

"Oh," was all Erin managed to say, now a violent shade of red.

"And no one knows?" Blaine asked.

"Come on, I go to a Catholic school. If they knew, I'd probably be expelled. Well, maybe not expelled, but I'd be...exorcised or something."

"I guess it's nice to know we're not the only ones," Blaine said.

"Yeah, but at least at my school the other kids wouldn't beat me up even if I was out," Becca said.

Blaine looked angrily at the ground. Erin, who seemed to have finally found her voice, said, "Well, do you want to join us? We were just going to eat somewhere and then go see a movie."

Becca looked at the two. "I couldn't impose," she began.

"Really, it's not like we're _actually_ on a date," Blaine said.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't invite you if I didn't want you to come," Erin said. "Come on, we owe you. You practically saved Blaine's life on the bus, and you told those cheerleader bimbos off for me."

Becca grinned. "Sure, I guess."

* * *

><p>Blaine found himself left out of most of the conversation at dinner. The two girls seemed to instantly connect. But, one advantage of being the third wheel was that he could observe the two girls without them noticing. He already knew that Erin liked Becca. That was obvious. But, Becca barely looked away from Erin all night. Blaine might not know a lot about love, but he was pretty sure that both girls were pretty into each other.<p>

After the movie, Becca called her mother to come pick her up while Blaine called his father. When he came back, the two girls were exchanging numbers.

Becca's mother came first. She gave Blaine a quick hug goodbye, and then went to Erin. The two girls embraced for slightly longer, and when they pulled away, they were both grinning like idiots.

After Becca left, Blaine turned to Erin.

"Shut up," the girl said.

"What? I didn't say anything," Blaine said, laughing.

"You know what. I can see the look on your face."

"Oh, come on, Erin. You two are both obviously into each other."

Erin blushed. "I seriously doubt that, I mean, she was just being nice," she muttered.

"No way. You can't honestly tell me that you didn't notice the way she was looking at you."

"Really?" Erin asked, finally caving in to Blaine. "You think so?"

Blaine simply raised his eyebrows at her, as if to say, "Well, _duh_!"

"Should I call her?"

Blaine laughed. "I don't know! I've never done this before!"

"Well, me neither!" Erin protested.

"Just calm down. She likes you, you like her. It'll happen."

* * *

><p>Erin literally sprinted to her bedroom when she finally came back to her house. She stood in the center of the room shaking for a moment before collapsing on her bed. Slowly, she pulled her cell phone from her purse and began scrolling through the names in her address book. Becca Douglas. There it was.<p>

_Hey Becca, this is Erin._

_No_, Erin decided, _that makes me sound like an idiot._

_I had fun tonight._

No. Still not right.

_Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to hang sometime this week. - E_

Good enough. Erin pressed 'send,' and sat down to wait.

She was too restless, though. Finally, Erin decided to take a shower to calm her nerves and distract her.

When she came back from the shower, her phone had one message.

_I'd love to. I had fun tonight :). - B_

Erin grinned.

_Me too :) You free on monday? - E_


	17. Chapter 17

Erin came into the library on Monday morning grinning widely. Micah looked up from his book of the week to greet her. "What's up with you?" he asked when he saw her brimming with happiness.

"Nothing," she said, sitting down and immediately pulling out her phone to check for messages.

"Put that away!" Micah hissed across the table. "You'll get us kicked out of here if the librarian catches you!"

"Oh, relax," Erin said, but she did hide her phone under the table.

Blaine slumped into the chair between his two friends. He, too, noticed Erin's unusually happy demeanor. Blaine, however, smiled knowingly. "Becca?" he asked Erin.

Erin blushed profusely, and Blaine simply laughed.

Micah looked between the two, confusion growing on his face. "Wait – Becca? As in the bus girl from Sacred Heart?"

Blaine nodded. "We ran into her as she was getting off of work when we were on out date. She joined us for the evening."

"So you'll invite a random girl you hardly know on your dates, but not me?" Micah asked while pretending to be offended.

"_Erin_ invited her," Blaine clarified. "Turns out Becca is gay."

Micah opened his mouth but no sound came out. He turned to Erin, as if looking for confirmation of what Blaine had just stated. Erin simply nodded, so Blaine continued his story.

"These two spent the whole night talking. Then they exchanged numbers. I'm betting that they communicated over the weekend, judging from Erin's generally girlish manner."

This, at least, seemed to wake Erin up. She punched Blaine playfully in the shoulder.

"So...?" Micah asked, turning to her.

"We may have texted...a bit," Erin said.

"And?" Blaine prompted.

Erin shook her head and mimed zipping and locking her lips.

"Oh, come on! You can't just drop something like that on us and not give us any details!" Blaine said.

Micah, at least, was attempting to be more tactful. "Fine," he said. "You're not going to give us any details. At least tell us if she was interested?"

Blaine answered this for Erin. "She was definitely interested. You could tell by the way they were looking at each other all night."

Erin looked mortified, but pleased. She was saved from having to answer any more by the bell ringing. All three got up and began to move toward the classes and the start of another week of torture.

Erin had her 'date' with Becca to keep her going throughout the day. Although, she wasn't really sure if it was a date yet. But she did know that Becca had liked spending time with her, and had wanted to hang out more. Plus, if what Blaine had said was true... Erin got butterflies in her stomach just thinking about it. As much as it embarrassed her to admit, she'd never been kissed. By a girl _or _a boy. Sure, plenty of her friends had had their first innocent kisses in middle school, but she had never been interested enough in anyone. But now with the distant possibility of a relationship with Becca, kissing was all Erin could think of. In the movies, people look more like they're just eating the other person's face, not the tender kisses that she'd always imagined as a young girl.

When Micah didn't show up at lunch, it took Blaine a full five minutes to notify Erin of the fact that one of the trio was missing.

"Erin!"

"Erin!"

"ERIN!"

"Hm?"

"Erin, I was asking you if Micah had told you anything about not coming to lunch today," Blaine said.

"Oh, no, he didn't mention anything to me," Erin replied absently.

"Well then, we better go get him."

Erin gave Blaine a questioning look, and then everything seemed to click into place.

"Oh my God! Micah!"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Wow, you must really like this girl if she has you so distracted. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check the equipment closet."

Blaine picked up his bag, stuffed his food into it, and slung it over his shoulder. He turned around to face Erin and offered a hand to help her up. She simply rolled her eyes and brushed herself off as she got up.

The two carefully navigated the halls near the locker rooms. Even though everyone was supposed to either be at lunch or in class, there was still the chance that they might meet a few stragglers. Thankfully, the halls were empty.

Erin helped Blaine pull the broom handle from the handle and then both pulled on the closet doors, unjamming them. Micah sat, looking slightly rumpled but otherwise unharmed, in the corner of the closet, using the small square of light from his cell phone screen to illuminate the pages of a book. He looked up at them, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light that was now streaming in. "Took you long enough," he teased good-naturedly.

"Yeah, well, _someone_ got a bit distracted," Blaine said.

In response, Erin simply punched his arm again.

"Ouch! I was just joking," Blaine said. "Seriously, if you keep doing that, I'm going to have a permanent bruise there."

"It's all good," Micah said in his mellow voice. "I got some quality reading time in while I was in there."

Blaine gave Micah a look that clearly suggested he thought the taller boy was crazy. In reality, all Blaine could think was, _He could not be any more different from Shane. I mean, he's so calm and studious... What does Shane see in him?_

"Whatever," Blaine said, brushing his thoughts aside. He'd decided that he would let his brother decide for himself if he wanted to come out to Blaine's friends. "By the way, can I take your bus with you to get my bike?"

"Sure," Micah said. "Managed to stay out of trouble all morning? Congrats."

This would have earned the bookish boy a punch if the comment had been directed at Erin, but Blaine simply put his arms around his two friends' shoulders as the three exited the gymnasium and headed toward Micah's locker.

* * *

><p>Becca stood nervously at the bus stop outside of Sacred Heart after school. Thankfully, most students had their own cars, so there was no one she knew on the bus. Not that she was ashamed to be meeting Erin, but no one knew. Except these kids from Stanton High School. Why had she told them again? She didn't even know them. But they didn't seem like the type who would out someone. Especially since they all struggled with it so much every day. And Erin was just so … mesmerizing. The way she ran, all the passion that she put into her every footstep, was just beautiful. Becca couldn't help but fall for the redhead from the moment they first talked.<p>

The city bus noisily pulled up in front of Becca and she entered, flashing her bus pass to the driver. She carefully chose a seat towards the front of the bus so that Erin would be able to find her easily. There were empty seats on either side of her and across from her, so they would be able to sit together. Becca pulled her messenger bag onto her lap and hugged it tightly against her chest.

* * *

><p>Blaine ran to Micah's eighth period classroom as soon as the bell rang. He practically crashed into the taller boy as he exited the room.<p>

"Wha – oh, Blaine," Micah said.

"Sorry."

"No problem. Maybe just hold back a bit of your enthusiasm next time? You're starting to act like your brother." Micah's comment about Shane would have seemed benign enough to anyone else, but now that Blaine knew Shane's secret, he couldn't help but read into it.

"Right. But...Shane's energy can be endearing," Blaine told Micah innocently. "Anyway, where's your bus?"

"In front of the main entrance. Number 18."

The two boys boarded the bus and sat together near the driver. It was the same seat that Micah usually took because he wanted the extra protection, not that the kids on his bus usually gave him that much grief.

"So what are your theories about Erin and Becca?" Blaine asked Micah. The taller boy wasn't prone to gossip, however he was more perceptive than Blaine in many ways.

"Well, judging from how distracted she was today, I bet that they're going to see each other again. Soon."

"God, I hope so," Blaine said, leaning back into the seat. "We need something exciting to happen."

"Yeah," Micah agreed. "Something exciting that doesn't involve any physical harm."

* * *

><p>From the moment that Erin stepped on the bus, she began looking for Becca. A multitude of thoughts ran through her head. <em>What if she isn't here? What if she doesn't actually like me? God, I'm such an idiot for listening to Blaine...And now I'm skipping practice. Coach is going to kill me.<em>

Before she could turn around and get off the bus however, she found Becca waiting. The other girl smiled at Erin, and suddenly, Erin couldn't quite think straight. She inserted her coins into the slot and went over to sit next to Becca.

"Hey," she said somewhat breathlessly as she sank down into the seat.

"Hi," Becca replied with a shy smile. This was the first time the two girls had been alone together. In fact, they'd only just met a few days ago. The weirdness of the situation was not lost on either girl, but neither seemed to mind too much.

"What do you want to do?" Erin asked.

"I don't really know. Do you want to just walk around until something jumps out?" Becca suggested.

"Sure," Erin said. _She's spontaneous. That's good – wait, no! Stop overanalyzing everything!_ Erin thought, reddening slightly. Thankfully, Becca seemed to take no notice.

"So...did you have a good day at school?" Becca asked after a terse pause.

Erin laughed slightly. "Considering it's school and a Monday, I don't really think there was any chance that it could be 'good.' But it wasn't too bad."

"Anything happen?" Becca asked carefully.

Erin understood what she meant. "No, nothing too unusually bad. Micah was shoved into the equipment closet in the gym, but he and Blaine are used to it by now."

"Geez, what is wrong with the people at your school?"

"I know, right?" Both girls laughed humorlessly. "What about you? How was school?"

"Long. Boring. The usual," Becca replied. "Don't we lead such exciting lives?"

Both girls actually laughed at this, earning a few glances from the other occupants of the bus. Of course, this only fueled their laughter.

By the time they exited the bus at the downtown station, the two girls had fallen into an easy rhythm.

They walked around downtown for a bit before Becca stopped in front of Color Me Mine. Erin raised her eyebrows at the other girl.

"Okay, I know it's really cheesy, but I love this place! I actually always begged my parents to bring me here when I was little. Please?"

"Yeah, fine," Erin said, rolling her eyes but smiling widely at the other girl.

The two entered the studio and walked to the wall of pottery. Erin chose a coffee mug and Becca picked out a small bowl. They claimed a table before going to pick out paint colors. They sat back down and began painting.

The two girls worked silently for a while, not sure how to resume their effortless conversation of earlier. Finally, Erin set down her paint brush and looked up at the girl sitting across from her. Becca was totally engrossed in her project. Her lips were pursed slightly and she carefully held the paintbrush between her fingers. "Becca...?" Erin asked.

Becca jumped slightly and met Erin's gaze. "Yeah?"

"Uh," Erin began, "I like that. You're really talented."

Becca smiled warmly. "Thanks. Yours is … interesting too."

"Oh come on, you don't have to lie to me. I know it sucks. I've never really been artistically inclined."

"Okay then, it's not the greatest, but at least it doesn't look like someone threw it up or took a crap on it."

"Wow, you really know how to make a girl feel better about herself," Erin said, thoroughly thankful that their easy banter had picked up again.

Becca laughed and turned back to her bowl. "I'm almost done," she said as she put the finishing touches on her bowl. "There," she said and turned the bowl around so Erin could see it.

"Wow, that's beautiful," Erin said softly.

The bowl was pale yellow with an intricate flower painted on one side of it. Erin looked closer and saw that around the flower, Becca had written something in small, beautiful calligraphy. _To Erin, Love Becca._

"It's for me?" Erin asked with a small gasp.

Becca nodded.

"Thanks. I'd offer you my mug, but I don't think it's the sort of thing anyone would want."

"Don't be stupid. It's beautiful and individual. Just like you."

The two girls were silent for a moment, simply looking into the other's eyes. They were interrupted by an employee walking over to their table.

"You two done?" the girl asked disinterestedly.

"Y-yeah," Erin stammered.

"Great. I'll take these back to bake them. Go to the counter and pay, and they'll tell you when to come pick them up."

Erin and Becca silently made their way to the front of the store, paid for their purchases, and left the store. Still silent, they walked over to a coffee shop. Erin gestured toward the door and asked, "Are you thirsty?"

"I guess," Becca replied.

The two girls got their drinks and sat at a small table in the back. After a few minutes, Erin looked up to find Becca staring at her.

"Becca?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you mean what you said back there? About my mug and … and me?"

Becca blushed slightly. "Yeah, I did."

"Why did you agree to come hang out with me today?"

"Because you're really cool and nice and fun to hang out with." Becca trailed off at the end of her sentence as if she wasn't quite finished talking.

"Oh," Erin said. "I'm just going to be really forward here. I kind of thought that maybe you liked me, and I really like you, and I just hoped, you know?"

Becca was silent for a moment, causing Erin to freak out internally. Before she could open her mouth to take back everything she'd just said, however, Becca began to speak slowly.

"I do like you, Erin. A lot. It's just so different for me. I mean, no one knows about me, and I wasn't even sure because I didn't know any other gay people. But when I saw you, and then when I talked with you on Friday... Everything just sort of changed for me."

Erin smiled slightly, and reached her hand across the table to take Becca's. "Well, now that we have that established, why don't we just take it slowly, okay?"

Becca nodded and squeezed Erin's hand.

* * *

><p>Blaine was beating Micah at video games, as usual. "Why do you even have these if you don't even like them?" Blaine asked his friend as he proceeded to beat him by a very large margin.<p>

"My parents, well, mostly my dad, think I'm antisocial because I read all the time so they tried to get me interested in stuff that other kids like."

Blaine rolled his eyes. "I get what you mean, what with how my dad is always trying to get me and Shane to quit music and dance."

"I guess I should be glad that my dad seems to have kind of accepted it. He doesn't push it too much, only when he sees his brother and my cousins."

Blaine's phone rang, interrupting the conversation.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Blaine? It's Erin."

"Oh, hey," Blaine said while he covered the mouth and mouthed _Erin _at Micah.

"Are you still at Micah's?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing. I was just making conversation."

"Okay."

A pause.

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Blaine asked.

"What – no! Why are you asking?"

"Well," Blaine began, laughing slightly, "y_ou _called _me_. I just assumed there was some reason."

"Oh. Right."

"So...?" Blaine prompted.

"Well, I kind of went out with Becca," Erin mumbled quickly.

"What? No way! Wait, let me put you on speaker!" Blaine exclaimed in triumph.

Micah gave him a questioning look and Blaine supplied, "Erin was just out with Becca."

Micah raised his eyebrows and smiled knowingly as he leaned in toward the phone in Blaine's hand. "So?" he asked.

"You two are worse than the girls in the locker rooms," Erin said.

"Hey, you brought this up. Anyway, stop stalling and give us details now!" Blaine said.

"Well, I texted her over the weekend. And we decided to hang out today, and while we were talking, it just came up."

"And?" Blaine demanded.

"And she likes me too and we decided to try this out."

"Yes!" both boys cried in unison while giving each other high fives.

"And we have a date Saturday night after she gets out of work."

* * *

><p>Saturday evening came, and Erin stood in front of the mirror on her closet door. She was wearing the same black skirt as last week and wondered if Becca would notice or care. But she had complimented her when she'd worn it, so Erin decided that it was okay. On top, she was wearing a soft green sweater. It was probably a little warm for the weather, but movie theaters could be cold and anyway, the color looked really good on her.<p>

Taking a deep breath, Erin went downstairs to find her parents in the living room. "Dad? Can I have a ride downtown? I'm meeting some friends there." Even though she was technically out to her parents, they hadn't really talked about it at all, and Erin didn't really want to tell them that she was going on a date.

"Sure, hon," Mr. Delaney said.

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca met outside of the movie theatre. They nervously clasped hands and smiled at each other before entering the theatre.<p>

Erin didn't remember much of the movie. She was too conscious of the fact that she was sitting next to a beautiful girl who she really liked and who liked her back. And Becca's thumb rubbing the back of Erin's hand was more than a little distracting.

The two walked aimlessly outside, hands still intertwined. Soon, they found themselves in the park. Erin led Becca over to a bench and they sat down.

"I had a lot of fun," Erin said to the other girl.

"Me too," Becca replied quietly.

"I really like you, Becca," Erin said, leaning ever so slightly closer.

Becca looked down for a moment, biting her lip to keep herself from grinning too much. She looked up and caught Erin's eye. In that moment, Becca was overcome by some sort of grand spirit. She, too, leaned in, but unlike Erin, Becca didn't stop until her face was mere centimeters from Erin's. "Me too," she whispered, letting her breath ghost over Erin's face before leaning the rest of the way in and tenderly kissing Erin.

Erin was taken aback for a moment, surprised at Becca's boldness after they had decided to take it slowly. But she very quickly gave in and raised her free hand to caress Becca's cheek.

When the two broke apart, both were rather pink and grinning like idiots.


	18. Chapter 18

Almost two weeks later, Erin still couldn't stop talking about Becca. They had spent practically every free moment together, prompting Blaine to ask Erin if they needed to break up since she barely had any time for her other friends any more.

"Oh, shut up," she had replied scathingly, but Blaine did notice that she displayed more of an effort to tone down that talk of Becca.

As a result of Erin spending all her time with Becca, Micah and Blaine had also been spending much more time with each other. They usually hung out at the Anderson's house since it was bigger and there usually weren't any parents. At first, Blaine was a little worried how Shane would react to Micah being there so much, but the two boys seemed to complement each other perfectly. Micah's sedate, calm manner worked wonders on Shane's hyperactivity. Although the younger boy was still extremely excitable, he was much less destructive when Micah was around. The three boys began doing almost everything together in the first two weeks. Micah even promised to attend Shane's spring recital for his dance company.

But what cemented the realization that Micah was good for Shane most in Blaine's head happened about a week earlier. The three boys were sitting around watching movies in the basement. Blaine was commenting on how hot Tom Felton was (of course it was a _Harry Potter _movie) when Shane said that he thought Rupert Grint was more attractive.

Micah didn't even miss a beat. "Thank you," he said. "I've been telling Blaine the same thing since he forced me to watch these the first time, and he never listened."

Later that same evening, Blaine received a text from Micah.

_Is your brother gay? I didn't want to say anything earlier, but after what he said, I thought maybe. - M_

Blaine smiled as he typed out his response.

_Yeah but hes not officially out yet. Thanks for being so cool about it earlier. - B_

* * *

><p>On the Friday that marked the day-before-the-two-week-mark for Erin and Becca, Blaine found himself walking toward his seventh period classroom. <em>Only two more classes<em>, he thought to himself, _90 more minutes of this before you can go home and relax_.

"Hey faggot!" a voice rang out from behind him. Blaine winced slightly at the slur, but continued walking, used to the name-calling by now. Unfortunately, whoever had shouted it at Blaine didn't seem to appreciate being ignored. "I'm talking to _you_, homo."

Blaine angrily turned around and found himself face to face with JD. He rolled his eyes, and asked, "What do you want?" in an attempt to hide his fear.

"I thought we already established that I don't like you and your freaky friends spreading your fairy dust all over the place," JD said, "but you seem to have forgotten my warning."

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked, taking a step back.

JD grinned at Blaine's show of weakness. "Let me remind you," he said before drawing back his fist and socking Blaine in the stomach.

The shorter boy doubled over, coughing, as the rest of the student body simply walked by. JD roughly grabbed Blaine's arm and bent it behind him, forcing Blaine to stand up. Without a word, he shoved Blaine down the hallway, toward the locker rooms.

There, the two boys found a few others waiting for them. "The dyke?" one asked JD.

JD shook his head. "Naw, man. I don't hit chicks." As if to accentuate his point, he shoved Blaine down, so that his head crashed painfully into the cinderblock wall. By now, Blaine's head began to feel heavy, and he couldn't quite keep his thoughts straight. He couldn't really fight back, instead letting the hulking figures forcefully guide him into the gym and launch him into the equipment closet.

Once the door was securely closed, Blaine let out a low groan, and lifted a hand to feel the rising lump on the back of his head. Thankfully, his fingers came back clean.

"Blaine?"

Blaine jumped back and hit his already throbbing head against a shelf behind him. "Shit, Micah, you scared me," he said.

"Sorry. I thought you'd already noticed I was here."

Blaine now saw the small square of light from Micah's cell phone light up the other boy's face. He looked hopefully at it and asked, "Service?"

"Nope. Just like every other time," Micah said.

"Well, I always hope that one time I'll actually be able to call someone," Blaine said. He blinked a few times and tried shaking his head to clear out his muddled thoughts.

"Erin'll check. She usually does after school. You okay?"

"Yeah...I just hit my head pretty hard. You?"

"Nothing. It was a pretty clean grab and shove. I'd actually only been here a few minutes before you...dropped in."

Blaine laughed weakly at his friend's attempt at a joke.

Both boys were silent for a moment. Finally, Blaine said, "Go on, I know you want to read. I can entertain myself."

"You sure?" Micah asked eagerly. Before Blaine even nodded, Micah's nose was already stuck in his book.

Blaine tried to lean back in the most comfortable manner possible. He found that balling up his sweatshirt behind his head dulled the ache of the now sizable lump on the back of his head. He pulled out his iPod and tuned out the rest of the sounds coming from the other gym and the locker rooms.

* * *

><p>Ninety minutes later, Erin forced open the closet door to find Micah engrossed in his novel and Blaine sleeping lightly.<p>

"Really?" she asked the two boys. "You two are getting too comfortable with this. Honestly, you look like you're lounging around at home. Do you even try to fight back anymore?"

All she received was a death glare from Blaine as Micah rushed to gather his things so that he wouldn't miss his bus. "Bye guys! See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, now run!" Erin replied, gently prodding the taller boy.

Erin and Blaine watched Micah run off. "Do you need an escort, or can I go to practice now?"

"Very funny," Blaine responded, rubbing his head gingerly. "I'm fine. So you'll all come over tomorrow night?"

"Well," Erin began.

"No, you have to come!" Blaine interrupted.

"_Well, _Becca and I were thinking about doing...something tomorrow night. After she gets done at work."

"She can come, too," Blaine said.

"Really?"

"Sure. We'd just have to pretend that she's like Micah's girlfriend or something. Fill her in on my dad and if she wants to come, take her. Otherwise, ditch her and come hang out with us! You've spent enough time with her in the past week."

Erin simply glared at Blaine and said, "We'll see."

Blaine grinned. "Seven o'clock!"

* * *

><p>As Blaine biked home, thoughts of the weekend consumed his thoughts. Tonight: homework. Tomorrow: Micah, Erin, and maybe Becca. Sunday: sleeping? He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice his parents' sleek black Mercedes-Benz sitting in the driveway. However, the sight of a red-eyed Marlene sitting at the kitchen table while Bart brought over a steaming mug of tea brought Blaine back to reality.<p>

"M-mom? Dad?" Blaine asked, looking between the two adults.

Marlene lifted her head, locked her sad eyes with Blaine's confused ones, and pulled out the chair next to her in a silent invitation.

He sat down slightly apprehensively and looked to his mother. Ignoring her tea, Marlene held Blaine's hand in both of hers.

"Honey," she said slowly, "I got a call earlier today. It's your grandfather … he had a heart attack."

Blaine's insides turned to ice and his mouth went dry. "Is he – is he okay?" Blaine was almost afraid of the answer.

"Honey, he didn't make it."

Blaine didn't quite believe the words that had just fallen from his mother's mouth. It was preposterous; he almost felt like laughing. "What do you mean?" he whispered.

"Your grandfather's...dead."

Blaine shivered involuntarily and stared wide-eyed at his mother. No. This couldn't be happening. He had just seen his grandfather over break. That was...what? Four months ago? Five? And now he was just … gone.

Marlene and Bart looked at their son, unsure of what to do. Finally, Blaine broke the silence. "I've, uh, I've got a lot of homework to do," he whispered dully before getting up and going to his bedroom.

Once inside, Blaine collapsed on his bed, thoughts travelling, however unwillingly, back to Christmas in New York. What was the last thing he had said to his grandfather? _Love you too, Grandpa. _After James had told Blaine to call him. And he never did. Blaine had taken his grandfather for granted, and now he was gone. Now there was no one who really knew Blaine, who always knew what Blaine wanted to hear. Blaine felt as if there was a gaping hole in his chest.

About half an hour later, the door opened again, and Blaine knew that his parents must now be telling Shane the news. He still hadn't moved from his bed, hadn't even shed a single tear. He was still absorbing the news.

There was a light tapping on the door and Shane let himself into Blaine's room. The younger boy was clearly distressed. Like his brother, he said nothing, but joined the older boy's silent vigil.

* * *

><p>Around five, Marlene began to ascend the stairs. As she got closer to the boys' rooms, she heard soft music coming from Blaine's open door. She stood at the doorway and listened, watching her two boys singing softly to Blaine's masterful guitar playing.<p>

_Thanks for all you've done  
><em>_I've missed you for so long  
><em>_I can't believe you're gone  
><em>_You still live in me  
><em>_I feel you in the wind  
><em>_You guide me constantly_

_I've never knew what it was to be alone, no  
><em>_Cause you were always there for me  
><em>_You were always there waiting  
><em>_And I'll come home and I miss your face so  
><em>_Smiling down on me  
><em>_I close my eyes to see_

_And I know, you're a part of me  
><em>_And it's your song that sets me free  
><em>_I sing it while I feel I can't hold on  
><em>_I sing tonight cause it comforts me_

_I carry the things that remind me of you  
><em>_In loving memory of  
><em>_The one that was so true  
><em>_Your were as kind as you could be  
><em>_And even though you're gone  
><em>_You still mean the world to me_

_I've never knew what it was to be alone, no  
><em>_Cause you were always there for me  
><em>_You were always there waiting  
><em>_But now I come home and it's not the same, no  
><em>_It feels empty and alone  
><em>_I can't believe you're gone_

_And I know, you're a part of me  
><em>_And it's your song that sets me free  
><em>_I sing it while I feel I can't hold on  
><em>_I sing tonight cause it comforts me_

_I'm glad he set you free from sorrow  
><em>_I'll still love you more tomorrow  
><em>_And you will be here with me still_

_And what you did you did with feeling  
><em>_And You always found the meaning  
><em>_And you always will  
><em>_And you always will  
><em>_And you always will_

_And I know, you're a part of me  
><em>_And it's your song that sets me free  
><em>_I sing it while I feel I can't hold on  
><em>_I sing tonight cause it comforts me_

When Blaine finished playing, the two boys embraced each other. Blaine looked up, caught his mother's eye, and nodded to her. She entered the room, and joined in their hug. When the three broke apart, Marlene whispered, "There's dinner ready downstairs, and your father and I want to talk to you about the … arrangements."

Blaine realized what she meant and stood up silently to go back to the kitchen. Shane followed, while Marlene took up the end of the procession.

* * *

><p>Although Bart had never gotten along with James, he certainly didn't hate the man. However, he wasn't one to show emotions because he thought it made a man seem weak. Therefore, he disapproved slightly at the tear tracks on Shane's face and Blaine's red-rimmed eyes.<p>

"I just got off the phone with his lawyer in New York and the funeral parlor," Bart began.

Blaine winced slightly at the word funeral.

"We'll have a small family ceremony next week. We're probably going to leave either tomorrow or Sunday. I'm going to get the tickets now."

Blaine, Shane, and Marlene all stared numbly back. In the back of Blaine's head, however, something clicked. "Tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, we'll leave either tomorrow or Sunday, and come back late next week," Bart said, trying not to get too irritated. "I'll call your schools to inform them of your absence."

Blaine nodded at his father. "I'm not really that hungry right now," he said. "Can I go back up to my room?"

Marlene patted his hand and smiled. "Sure, honey. Help yourself when you get hungry."

Blaine went back into his room and fished out his cell phone. When he opened it, he saw that he had one message from Erin.

_Just talked to Becca, shes cool with tomorrow night. See ya! - E_

Blaine's stomach dropped a little as he typed out his message.

_Cant do tomorrow. - B_

He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he could say more, but he couldn't bring himself to write the words. That would make it real.

Almost immediately, Blaine's phone beeped twice, telling him that he had two new messages.

_Why? Sunday then? - M_

_What? After you made me promise to come now ur canceling? What happened? - E_

Blaine turned off his phone. He didn't want to have to tell his friends. Instead, he fell back on his bed and tried to fall asleep. His head was still throbbing dully from earlier, and he didn't feel completely well, so it was easy for him to just drift off.

What seemed like seconds later, Blaine awoke to a loud rapping at his bedroom door.

"Blaine!" Bart called.

Blaine rolled over, rubbed his eyes, and went to the door. "Yeah?" he asked sleepily.

"You have a phone call," Bart said, holding the phone out to him.

Blaine stared at his father in confusion, wondering who would be calling him on the home phone. The only people who ever called him were Erin and Micah, and they both knew his cell phone number... Then Blaine remembered that his cell phone was turned off. The events of that evening came flooding back to him. "Who is it?" he asked.

"Your girlfriend."

Blaine took the phone and gingerly held it up to his ear. He knew that Erin was probably really pissed that he had been ignoring her. "Hello?"

"Blaine? What the hell, man? Why aren't you answering your phone?" Erin demanded.

Blaine sat back down on his bed. "I turned it off," he said.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't want to talk to anyone," Blaine snapped back.

"Woah, Blaine, what happened?" Erin asked. "Is it your dad?"

Blaine laughed. "I wish," he said, then gasped. "No, that was really horrible! I just meant that its got nothing to do with my dad."

Erin stayed silent, waiting for Blaine to elaborate. "It's my grandpa," he said. "He – he died."

Saying the words seemed to open a gate inside him. Suddenly, Blaine couldn't hold himself together any more. He was crying and muttering incoherently while Erin listened patiently at the other end of the line, occasionally offering words of encouragement.

"I'm sorry," he said once he had finally calmed down.

"No, it's okay," Erin said tenderly. "I know how much he meant to you. He was the only one who knew. That's got to be tough."

Blaine nodded, unable to bring himself to say anything else.

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow. Or Sunday."

"Do you want me and Micah to come over tonight? Or tomorrow before you leave? I don't want you to be alone right now."

"No," Blaine said. "Really. I need to be alone right now. And I always have Shane."

"Okay. But, seriously, call me if you need anything."

"Thanks, Erin."

"I love you, Blaine."

"You too."

Blaine set down the phone on the floor of his room and rolled onto the carpet. He pulled over his backpack, taking out his books and folders. He didn't exactly want to do homework, but he needed to be doing _something. _He couldn't just sit around with the silence. He turned on his stereo and began working on his geometry problems.

An hour later, Blaine had barely made any progress. He got up and went downstairs. It was close to ten already, and the kitchen was dark. Blaine reheated some of the tomato soup from the refrigerator and brought it into the living room. He flipped through the TV channels, searching for something mindless to occupy his mind.

Blaine finally settled on _Friends _reruns. He was surprised to find Shane joining him a few minutes later. The two brothers leaned into each other, seeking comfort from one another.

This was the position that Marlene Anderson discovered her two sons eight hours later when she woke up, unable to sleep in any later. She brewed a pot of coffee and sat beside them on the couch, gently rubbing circles into their backs.

Blaine was the first to stir. He woke up to find his mother sitting next to him, cradling his head in her lap and playing with his curls like she used to do when he was younger. He turned his head slightly so that they were looking at each other. Marlene simply held a finger to her lips and pointed to Shane. Blaine smiled and shifted slightly, taking full advantage of his mother's warmth.

Bart Anderson came downstairs around 8 am, entering the kitchen to the smell of waffles. Marlene was making them while Blaine sat at the counter and talked with her. Shane was still asleep on the couch.

"Do you want to wake him?" Marlene asked Blaine, nodding toward Shane. "Breakfast's almost ready."

"Sure," Blaine said. He walked over to the couch, aware that his parents were talking behind him. "Shane!" Blaine said. Shane stirred slightly, but stayed asleep. Blaine shook his brother's shoulder to no avail. Finally, he took a pillow and his the younger boy's head.

"Ouch!" Shane exclaimed as he thrashed around on the couch.

"Breakfast," Blaine said, letting the aroma of waffles do the rest of the work on Shane. The younger boy jumped up with the grace of the dancer that he was, and leaped over to the table.

After Marlene had passed waffles out to the entire family, she and Bart nodded at each other.

"Boys," Bart began. Both Blaine and Shane looked up. "We're going to leave tonight. I booked us a flight at 7."

Blaine nodded and stared down at his plate. He had very suddenly lost his appetite.

"The funeral is going to be on Tuesday," Marlene began, "and we'll be back home by Thursday night. We've already contacted your schools, and they know you'll be absent."

"We're going to be leaving for the airport around 5," Bart finished.

Unlike Blaine, Shane was shoveling as much food into his mouth as he could possibly manage. It seemed almost as if he hadn't heard a word his parents had just said.

Blaine sat and pushed his food around his plate for a few more minutes until Shane finished his food, then both boys went upstairs to pack.

* * *

><p>This plane ride was very different from the last ones. No one spoke. Bart still had files from work, and Blaine was now working on his homework. Shane slept the whole way, and Marlene seemed to be stuck in a sort of trance. When they landed in New York, the family went through the baggage claim and got in their taxi without a word.<p>

They stayed at James' apartment. Blaine thought it was wrong to be in there without his grandfather, but he said nothing.

On the coffee table in the living room sat one of the pictures that had been taken at Christmas. Next to it were Blaine and Shane's school pictures. And next to them were two older pictures: One of James and his wife on their wedding day, and one of their family at Marlene's high school graduation.

Marlene sat on the couch, holding a mug of coffee and staring at the pictures. Bart came over from where he had been unpacking in their room and sat down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulders.

She shuddered slightly and turned her head towards his. Her dark curly hair, so much like her sons', fell across her face, shielding the tears from view.

"Hey," Bart said tenderly as he brushed the hair from her face and cupped his hand under her chin. "It's going to be okay."

"I just – I didn't get to say goodbye to my mom so I decided to do everything to be closer to my dad. And now he's gone, and I still feel like I didn't even know him."

"He loved you, and you loved him. That's enough," Bart said soothingly.

"I know you didn't like him that much, so thank you for this," Marlene whispered with a slight hiccough.

"This has nothing to do with whether or not we liked each other. He was your father which means that I am supposed to do this for you. Because I love you. And I didn't hate him, we just didn't see eye to eye on most matters."

"I just can't believe he's gone."

"I know, honey. It's hard. But we have to be strong."

* * *

><p>Tuesday morning, Blaine found himself once again standing in front of the bathroom mirror and attempting to tie his tie. He sighed and walked out to the living room, half expecting to find his grandfather there ready to help him. But all that Blaine found was his father, staring at the Christmas picture.<p>

"Um, dad?" Blaine tentatively asked.

Bart looked up at his son.

"Can you help me?"

Bart's face hardened for a moment, but then he looked down at the picture. When he looked back at Blaine, he was smiling sadly. "Sure. Come on over here so I can teach you how to do it on your own."

Bart's hands deftly worked on the knot in the tie. Blaine wasn't sure what to do right then. This was something different – he and his father weren't usually this close.

"I just miss him," Blaine whispered barely audibly.

Bart looked up into his son's face and saw the tears brimming in the hazel eyes. He took one large hand and placed it on Blaine's shoulder. "I know, kid. It's hard to lose someone like this."

Blaine was a little taken aback at his father's sincerity. He looked down and was surprised to find that his tie was finished and lying neatly on his shirt. "Th-thanks, dad," he managed before retreating back to his bedroom.

In the small room, Blaine found Shane sitting on the bed staring aimlessly at the wardrobe. "Shane?" he asked the younger boy.

Shane jumped slightly and brought up a hand to wipe his face. "Hey."

"Are you okay? You've been really … quiet."

"Yeah. I mean, no. It's just that I thought I'd be able to tell him, you know, when I'm ready. And now … I can't."

Blaine sat down next to his brother and put a comforting arm across his shoulder. "You can still tell him. When you're ready. Just because he's not _here_ here doesn't mean he's not with us any more. And I know that I sound like some crappy motivational poster, but it's true."

Shane smiled at his brother and leaned back on the bed. "You know," he began, "I have told someone."

Shane expected Blaine to be surprised at this news, but instead, Blaine smiled knowingly and said, "Figured it out finally?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Micah. The other day you said that you thought Rupert Grint was more attractive than Tom Felton."

Shane blushed slightly. "I was trying to be subtle."

"It worked. Micah wasn't quite sure if he heard you correctly. You don't mind that I confirmed for him, do you?"

Shane shook his head and looked down at his watch. "We should probably get out there."

* * *

><p>Wednesday was a weird day. Everyone spent the entire day pretending to be happy and casual, as if they hadn't been at a funeral the day before. And yet, they spent the entire day cleaning out the apartment and going through James' belongings. Marlene knew the entire task couldn't happen in one day; she planned to come back out to New York in a little over a week, once she had things settled at work.<p>

Shane and Bart left around noon to pick up some food for lunch. Blaine and Marlene were working through James' bedroom.

Blaine was carefully sifting through the contents of his grandfather's bedside cabinet when something silver caught his eye. His moved the papers aside to uncover James' pocket watch. Blaine smiled as he remembered the many times he had seen his grandfather whip it out. He had always thought it made the man so much more dignified than if he was simply wearing a wristwatch. Of course, Blaine had also spent plenty of time playing with the watch as a young child, pretending it was some magical object and the designs on it were a secret language.

"Hey, mom?"

"Yeah hon?"

"Can I – can I take this?" Blaine asked, holding the watch out by its chain.

Marlene smiled at the sight of her father's old pocket watch. She never thought to ask where he'd gotten it. But he had always kept it with him. It was a little bittersweet seeing the watch swinging from her eldest son's hands now. "Sure, honey. I think he'd like to know it was being taken care of."

Blaine carefully pocketed the relic. It was one of the few objects that he really strongly associated his grandfather with. Most of their memories were just that – memories – and not tangible.

The front door opened and Shane and Bart entered, carrying with them the smell of warm spices. "Lunch!" Bart called from the kitchen.

Both Blaine and Marlene were shaken out of their memories at the shout. "We better clean up a little before we eat," Marlene told her son as she led him out of the room.

* * *

><p>The family left early Thursday morning. Blaine was next to Shane on the flight. The two boys chatted a bit, but shut up when the in-flight movie came on. Soon, Shane had dozed off. Blaine pulled the pocket watch from his backpack and opened the door. He gazed at the watch face, smiling slightly. There was something comforting about the watch, as if it was his grandfather there with him. He found the knob on the side and adjusted the hands so the time displayed was the west coast time. Still clutching the watch, Blaine sat back in his seat and fell asleep.<p>

* * *

><p><em>an: Song is "In Loving Memory" by Alter Bridge_


	19. Chapter 19

_a/n: I apologize so much for the delay in updating! Everything has been so crazy with my life right now...papers, midterms, rehearsals...everything just seems to be happening at the same time! I think there'll be one more update before Thanksgiving and then I'll be able to devote all of my time to writing come December. Hang in there! And thanks so much for all the support and lovely reviews! I appreciate every single one of them!_

* * *

><p>Erin and Micah sat in the library Friday morning.<p>

"So," Micah said, "how have you and Becca been?"

Erin grinned in spite of herself. "Good. You know, you're always welcome to come hang out with us if you want."

"No thanks. I'm not all that interested in being a third wheel. Anyway, isn't Blaine supposed to be back today?"

"That's what he told me."

"Have you talked to him yet? You know, since..." Micah trailed off.

"No. You?"

Micah shook his head. "I hope he's okay."

"I'm fine," Blaine said, causing both his friends to jump. Neither had seen him approach the table. "Or at least, I will be," Blaine continued as he sank down into an empty chair.

"How was it?" Erin asked tenderly as she placed one of her hands over Blaine's.

"Hard," Blaine replied truthfully. "How have things been here?"

"Pretty much the usual," Micah began, "except - "

Erin cut him off. "It's been _fine_."

The two exchanged a look that Blaine noticed but decided not to comment on at the present moment.

* * *

><p>Blaine navigated the lunch line carefully. He selected the least greasy looking pizza, some french fries, and a jello dessert. In his days off of school, he had hoped that coming back would reveal that the low quality of the food was simply exaggerated in his mind, but this meal confirmed the truth.<p>

After paying, Blaine walked into the cafeteria, hoping with all his heart that nothing would happen. _Just one quiet day, _Blaine thought desperately, _please_.

It was at that moment that Murphy's Law set into action. A boy passing Blaine shoved him in a way that could have been accidental if it wasn't so forceful. Blaine was propelled forward in a clattering of food and dishes.

Laughter broke out from the surrounding students. The boy who'd shoved Blaine turned around and said mockingly, "We missed you, fag. Where'd you go?"

Blaine felt his face flush and tried his best to ignore the calls from his fellow students as he cleaned himself up. Unfortunately, they weren't done with him yet. As Blaine was about to exit the room, a large hand shoved him into the wall.

"Hey flit. Didja miss me?" JD leered from above Blaine.

"What d'you want?" Blaine asked tiredly.

"Why'd you leave, fairy?"

"It's none of your business," Blaine mumbled.

"Oooh, did I hit a nerve? Is the little princess upset?"

JD was now pressed very close to Blaine. His eyes flashed a moment before he very quickly lashed out, sending Blaine sprawling towards the ground. As Blaine fell, his arm flew out and connected painfully with the wall.

JD placed his foot on Blaine's chest, keeping the younger boy pinned to the ground.

"You and your freaky friends better keep away," JD growled before casually walking away.

Blaine got up, shaking, and went out to the back stairwell. Immediately upon seeing the stains on his shirt, the other two knew exactly what had happened.

"You okay?" Micah asked as Blaine sat down. Blaine nodded before resting his head on his lap and running his fingers through his curls.

"Who was it?" Erin asked.

"Who do you think?" Blaine said simply. "JD. I don't think he was too happy that I wasn't here earlier. Although I don't think he has ever been all that excited that I exist, so I don't get it really, but...whatever."

"Want some pretzels?" Micah offered, holding out a plastic bag.

"Thanks," Blaine said, feeling an odd comfort in the routine.

Blaine ate the pretzels silently, thinking about something JD had said. Something was off with the last thing he had told Blaine: _You and your freaky friends better keep away._

"Hey – guys?" Blaine said.

"Yeah?"

"Um, well, I was thinking about something that JD said earlier. He said that my friends and I better 'keep away.' Do you know what he meant?"

Again, Erin and Micah exchanged looks and shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"Oh, come on, I know something must have happened. You're doing the same thing you did this morning when I asked if anything happened!"

"Fine," Erin said. "But can I just preface this by saying that this wasn't a big deal at all?"

Blaine just rolled his eyes and motioned for her to continue.

"Well, on Tuesday I was heading over to the gym for PE, and I ran into a group of guys that I knew didn't have PE at the same time as me, so I assumed that they probably had other reasons for being there."

Blaine shot Erin a look, as if to say _cut the crap, Erin, and keep on with the story_.

"Okay, fine. They were bragging about stuffing 'the nerdy faggot' into the closet," Erin said, emphasizing her disgust with air quotes. "And I got kind of pissed at them, and just … exploded a bit. I yelled at them and called them some pretty foul names - "

"– All of which they deserved, considering what they've called us," Micah interjected.

"And one of the PE teachers heard me. Thankfully, he just sent us all off to class instead of giving me a detention or calling my parents or something. So I went and got Micah. And that pretty much sums it up."

Blaine cracked up at the end of the story. "I'm sorry, what happened wasn't funny, but I just can't get this image out of my head: you putting a group of gigantic footballers in their place!"

Erin and Micah grinned too. "It was pretty funny," Erin said.

After the laughter died down, Micah nudged Erin. "That wasn't exactly all that happened, though," Micah said.

"Micah, no, it was nothing," Erin said.

"Fine. If you won't tell, I will. After practice that day, Erin came back to the locker room and her entire gym bag was soaked in soda or juice or something else that has sugar and food dyes in it. One of the guys must have told his girlfriend to get back at Erin."

"Yeah, but it was nothing. I was wearing my good running shoes, my spikes were in my locker, and all that happened was that I had to was my clothes a bit earlier than I expected. No big deal."

Blaine was silent for a moment. "No big deal?" he finally shouted. "They crossed a line there. I mean, usually it's just physical assaults, but they actually went after your private property!"

"I knew we shouldn't have told him," Erin said. "He's already emotional about … stuff."

"Oh, come on. You can't seriously keep this from me because my grandpa died. Anyway, why would you want to keep this from me? Did you think I'd do something stupid?"

"No! Of course not! I just didn't want you to get upset or think that it was somehow your fault," Erin said.

Blaine was silent for a moment. "Oh," he finally said. "How would it be my fault?"

"Just forget it, okay?"

Everyone was silent for a few awkward minutes. Micah, unable to stand it any longer, finally said, "So, do you have any plans for the weekend?"

* * *

><p>Blaine came home and planned out his long, lonely evening. Erin had plans with Becca, Micah with his family. Shane had extra rehearsal for the spring showcase since he'd missed almost a week. He began to work on his sizable pile of homework that he had accumulated over the past week. Unfortunately, his teachers seemed to think that since he had the entire weekend to work on it, they didn't need to give him much extra time to make it all up. Strickland had been the strictest, emphasizing that he expected all of the missed work to be turned in on Monday, and everything else to be completed on time. It looked damn near impossible, so Blaine was somewhat thankful that he did have the free time to do it.<p>

After a quick and quiet dinner in which Bart had expressed only mild distaste when Shane brought up the topic of his upcoming recital, Blaine went back to his room to shower and continue with the never-ending pile of work.

As Blaine was getting ready to shower, he looked down at his wrist. The moment his eyes landed on the sleek black watch, his heart sank. The watch face was cracked cleanly down the center, with smaller cracks sprawling off to the sides.

"Shit," Blaine muttered aloud as he took it off and laid it gingerly on his dresser. When his hand flew out against the wall when JD confronted him earlier, the watch must have taken the brunt of the blow. _What'll I tell dad? _

Blaine took a long, hot shower, and spent most of his time there trying to think of what to do. Was there a chance that his father wouldn't notice that he wasn't wearing the watch? Probably. Bart wasn't exactly the most observant father. There was no way that Blaine was going to actually tell his dad that he'd broken his expensive watch, not after the way that Bart had reacted to the bike tires. Blaine finally decided to hide the watch and not tell his father. It had never really been that useful, anyway, considering that Blaine couldn't even read it most of the time.

As Blaine was getting dressed the next morning, he pulled a slightly rumpled sweatshirt from his still packed duffel bag. There was a heavy weight in the pocket. Blaine felt it banging against his hip. Confused, he reached in and his fingers closed around the smooth, cold metal, and brushed along the long chain. Of course. James' pocket watch. Blaine had almost forgotten that he had taken it. He had hidden it away because it reminded him too much of his grandfather, but at the same time, it was something that he never wanted to part with. It seemed almost like fate finding it now, just after his cold, expensive, impersonal watch had broken.

* * *

><p>One week later, Blaine found himself with his mother and Micah, waiting in the lobby of Shane's dance studio. Bart had refused to come, instead throwing out a transparent excuse about something urgent at work.<p>

But Micah was there, as he had promised, and Blaine knew that Shane wanted that. Erin and Becca were coming, too, as Blaine and Micah's "girlfriends."

"I'm going to save our seats, alright honey?" Marlene said after checking her watch for the third time in the past few minutes.

"Sure mom," Blaine said. "Erin and Becca should be here in just a minute."

After Marlene walked away, Blaine turned to Micah. "Thanks again for coming. I know it means a lot to Shane. He might not show it, but it sucks how our dad disapproves of this, and it really hurts him."

"Hey," Micah said, "I promised I'd come, didn't I?"

Blaine grinned. "Just warning you, it could be really boring. And long. It's an entire studio recital, not just the good, upper level dancers."

"Now you tell me," Micah said with a laugh.

"But at least there'll be a few guys in leotards," Blaine said, slightly quieter than usual just in case his mother was still there.

"Why do you think I came?" Micah asked in a rare moment of flirtatiousness.

Erin and Becca came through the doors a few moments later.

"Finally," Blaine said in mock seriousness. "The recital's about to start! What took you so long?"

"_Someone_ drives like an eighty year old woman," Becca said, rolling her eyes and glaring at Erin.

"Wait – you _drove _here?" Blaine asked.

Erin nodded proudly. "Yep. I finally got my permit. And," She said turning on Becca, "I do _not _drive like an eighty year old, I drive carefully and according to the rules of the road."

"Sure you do," Becca said, before turning toward Blaine and Micah and whispering, "I'm pretty sure that we would have gotten here faster if we had walked."

"Shut up," Erin said, lightly punching Becca's shoulder.

"Ah!" Becca said, feigning pain.

"Oh, did I hurt you?" Erin teased.

"Nothing a kiss can't heal."

"You two are sickening," Blaine observed as the two girls leaned in towards each other and broke apart prematurely in a fit of giggles. "Anyway, you have to reign in all the lovey-dovey stuff around my mom. She still thinks you're our girlfriends."

"Alrighty, _honey-pie_," Erin said, linking her arm through Blaine's. "Lead the way, my knight in shining armor."

Blaine shot Micah a look that clearly said, _What did I do to deserve this?_ Micah simply grinned and shrugged back towards Blaine before taking Becca's hand.

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't help but watch Micah during Shane's dance. It wasn't rude, he figured, since he'd already seen Shane practice it hundreds of times before. Anyway, it was for Shane's benefit that Blaine was watching Micah. And maybe it was Blaine's imagination, but Micah couldn't seem to tear his eyes from Shane, even when the younger boy was simply a small figure in the background of the dance.<p>

_Maybe, _Blaine thought, _there is something there. Or, maybe I'm imagining it all because I want my little brother to be happy..._

But Blaine was right. Micah sat frozen in his seat, transfixed by the dancers on the stage. One particular dancer. The boy's fluid and graceful movements seemed so raw and truthful. And mesmerizing. Micah felt something inside of him that nothing had ever stirred before. But he'd read enough to know what it was. It was like his heart was trying to pump twice as much blood in about half as much time. He was almost out of breath from simply sitting and watching the younger boy dance.

When the dance ended, the only person who beat Micah to the standing ovation was Blaine.

* * *

><p>After the recital, Mrs. Anderson took the five kids to a local diner to eat and hang out. She said that she had a few errands to run, but Blaine knew that she just wanted to give them time to be kids. In the back of his mind, Blaine also wondered if maybe she knew a bit more about all of them than she was letting on.<p>

As it happened, Erin and Becca sat together on one side of the booth, Micah and Shane shared the other side, and Blaine sat in a chair that they had pulled up to the head of the table. Shane seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable around Micah. Blaine was surprised and a little amused at how flustered his brother seemed to get around his crush. Shane barely stopped talking the entire meal, and when he did, he lapsed into embarrassed silences.

It was during one of these silences that Micah put his hand on Shane's balled fist sitting on the table and said, "You did a really great job, by the way. You're a really natural dancer."

Shane flushed. "Uh … thanks, Micah," he said with a weak grin.

Erin, sensing the younger boy's confusion and distress, jumped in. "Yeah, you were amazing!" she said. "Almost like a different person."

Trying to lighten the mood, Blaine also jumped in, light-heartedly teasing his brother. "Yeah, someone who only saw you dance might actually think that you were calm and controlled … and sane."

Shane shot his brother a look that was half exasperated and half relieved. He looked back down at the table and was surprised to find that Micah's hand was till on his. Erin, Becca, and Blaine all seemed to notice this, too, and all exchanged a silent question, though Micah was oblivious to it all.

"Thanks for coming. I'm sure most of it was pretty boring," Shane said.

"Hey, any excuse to watch girls in skin-tight leotards," Erin joked. Becca jabbed her in the ribs in response. "Hey, I'm just kidding. You know I've only got eyes for you."

"And here they go again," Blaine said, rolling his eyes. He turned to Shane and Micah. "So, ignoring those two over there, what's up?"

Shane suddenly perked up. "Have you told them about your party yet?"

"Shane - !"

"What party?" Micah interjected.

"It's nothing," Blaine said.

"His birthday's coming up," Shane began.

"And our mom wants me to have some big party, but I really don't want to."

"Aw, come on," Becca said from the other side of the table, "parties are fun. Plus, they're an excuse to get more presents!"

"When's your birthday?" Erin asked.

"May 7," Blaine said.

"That's in a week! Why didn't you tell us?"

"I'm just not a birthday person."

"Mom wants to have a party for him and all his friends next Friday. I'm assuming that you would be the people he'd invite if he were in charge of this," Shane explained. "But as he's done such a terrible job so far, I'm inviting you. Next Friday, come over at 6. We have a spare bedroom if your parents are okay with you sleeping over."

"Cool," Micah said, looking directly at Shane. "I'll be there."

Only once everyone got up to leave did Micah take his hand off of Shane's.


	20. Chapter 20

Friday, May 9. Blaine had been 15 for two days. Nothing seemed different, except the pressure from his father seemed to have increased somehow. Wednesday night's family dinner had been tenser than usual.

"_So, Blaine, what are your plans for the future?" Bart asked._

_Blaine's eyes widened, and he slowly chewed the piece of chicken that was in his mouth, thankful for it at that moment. He gulped and looked up at his father. "Plans?"_

"_Well, yes. Now that you're almost done with your first year of high school, do you have any idea what you'd like to do?"_

"_Um, well, I," Blaine sputtered. Of course, he knew what he wanted, but he didn't think his dad would be very happy if he told him that he wanted to sing. "I mean, it's only my first year..."_

"_Well, you're going to be getting a lot more responsibility in the next year. Soon, you'll be learning to drive -"_

"_-And maybe you'll even need to shave soon!" Shane had interjected, trying to add a bit of levity to the conversation._

Blaine now sat in his bedroom, listening to the music playing from the iPod docked in his brand new iHome. He was pretty sure that Shane had a hand in choosing his gift from his parents. Blaine would have to repay the favor at Shane's next birthday. The digital display told him that it was 5:30. Erin, Becca, and Micah would be here in half and hour. And then they would all have to try to survive 18 hours of pretending to be something they weren't.

Becca and Shane had both seamlessly become a part of the group. Neither were a close as the original three, but they had become a strange little family. Shane, however, was worried about where he would fit in come September. He was out to their small group only, and he wasn't planning on coming out to the rest of the world any time soon. It wasn't that he was ashamed, he was just scared that the torment that plagued Blaine would fall on him, too. Blaine was sure that would happen, too, and being the protective older brother, he tried to keep it as far from Shane as possible. But the question of where Shane would "be" next year had occurred to him too.

Even though he had only recently met the others, Shane felt like they were better friends than any of his classmates. And he wanted to keep hanging out with them, even next year when he finally started high school. But Blaine had told him that no one would be offended if Shane avoided them at school in order to stay safe.

The doorbell rang.

Blaine got up from his bed and went downstairs to answer it. He walked through the kitchen, past his mother who was preparing a fantastic cake, and opened the door to reveal Erin.

"Hey," she grinned at him, holding out a large box with a bow on it.

"Thanks," he said, taking the box from her, "but you didn't have to."

"Micah and I went in on it together," she explained. "Am I the first one here?"

"Yep. Want to bring your stuff to the basement?"

Blaine led Erin through the foyer and towards the basement stairs. "Hi Mrs. Anderson!" Erin called to Marlene.

Marlene turned from her masterpiece cake. "Oh, hello, Erin. How are you doing?"

"I'm great. That cake looks beautiful. Did you make it?"

"That's sweet of you to say. Yes, I did make it."

"Well, I can see that Blaine inherited none of your talent in the kitchen," Erin joked.

"Yes, he is like his father in that way," Marlene agreed, laughing lightly.

The doorbell rang a second time, so Blaine directed Erin towards the stairs before answering the door.

"Hey, Micah, Erin's downstairs now," Blaine greeted. As he was about to shut the door, a final car pulled into the driveway and Becca jumped out.

"Hey!" she called, waving her hand and pulling her bags from the back seat. "Happy birthday, Blaine!"

She ran up the front steps and gave Blaine a quick hug in greeting before waving to her mother in her car. Blaine led her into the kitchen where Erin was taking with Marlene and Micah and Shane were snaking on pretzels and chatting.

"Mom," Blaine said, "this is my friend Becca, you remember her from Shane's recital, right?"

"Right, nice to see you again," Marlene said, taking Becca's hand. "You go to Scared Heart, right?"

"Yep," Becca answered. "I met Blaine through Erin. We both run track and compete against each other a lot."

"Well, a little friendly competition never hurt anyone," Marlene said.

"Why don't we all go downstairs?" Blaine suggested. "We can take the snacks."

The five trooped downstairs and perched themselves on the various couches, chairs, and pillows in the rec room.

"So," Blaine said once everyone was settled in. "What do you guys want to do?"

"We have to decide?" Erin asked. "This is _your _party."

"Well, technically this is Shane's party since he invited all of you. It's just held in honor of me."

"Fine then," Shane said. "I vote we eat."

"They just got here!" Blaine objected.

"Yeah, but I'm hungry and since I'm apparently in charge of this, I say that we eat. Unless you'd like to take charge?"

"Fine," Blaine said. "Come on, guys, my mom has stuff for us to make pizzas."

* * *

><p>The seating arrangement for dinner was a lot more complicated than it should have been. Since Blaine and Erin were "dating," they had to sit together. But Erin and Becca were <em>actually <em>dating. And Blaine wasn't sure if his mother thought that Micah and Becca were dating, since that had been the original plan. So those two had to sit together too. Shane seemed the odd one out, although Blaine knew that Shane had a crush on Micah, and he suspected that Micah might have some feelings for Shane.

As the group tried to organize themselves without Mrs. Anderson noticing, Erin giggled and said, "We're almost as confusing and convoluted as _Twelfth Night_."

The others stared at her blankly. "Okay, how about _She's The Man_?"Everyone reacted positively to this clarification. "Even you, Micah? I'd've thought you'd have read it at least. The rest of you will probably read in next year in English."

Micah looked a bit guilty. "I'm not too much of a Shakespeare person."

"Huh, I always you were more of an anything that has ever been written person," Blaine commented.

"Yeah, and didn't you help Blaine with his Shakespeare stuff earlier?"

"Well, I mean I get Shakespeare, I just don't read it for fun," Micah clarified.

"Whatever," Erin conceded. "Shall we eat?"

The group finally settled on the seating arrangement: Erin sat next to Blaine and across from Becca. Becca was sitting next to Micah who was sitting across from Blaine and next to Shane. It was a whole lot more effort than it was worth.

Part way through dinner, the conversation turned to celebrity crushes. They had to be rather quiet about what they said since Marlene was in the next room, but everyone seemed to play their parts well.

"You can't say that Megan Fox isn't hot," Shane said.

"Okay, sure, she's hot," Erin said, "but a girl doesn't have to be practically naked to be hot, right?"

Blaine grinned at Erin. He knew that Erin had agreed to see _Transformers _solely because of Megan Fox's character.

The front door opened and Bart made his was through his office to drop off his briefcase before entering the living room and greeting the kids collected at the table.

"Hello Mr. Anderson," Erin greeted him politely.

"Hello Erin," he replied.

Blaine quickly jumped in. "Hi dad, you remember Micah, right? And this is Becca. She's our friend from Sacred Heart."

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you. Glad you all could come." Bart walked into the kitchen where he and Marlene held a brief conversation. The kids resumed their conversation.

"What about Neil Patrick Harris?" Becca suggested, this time winking at Blaine. Everyone knew that Blaine's crush on Neil Patrick Harris was second only to his crush on Tom Felton.

"Ah," Erin sighed, "if only."

Bart had approached the table again in the middle of this exchange. "Isn't he that fag who plays the womanizer on the TV show?" Bart asked.

The tension surrounding the five seated at the table thickened.

"If I were a woman, I would refuse to have to kiss him. It's disgusting," Bart continued without waiting for a reply. He hadn't noticed anything wrong with what he'd said.

"It's the sign of a good actor," Blaine finally weakly contributed.

Bart scoffed lightly. "Anyway, I just wanted to talk to you all about tonight. I know it's okay with your parents that you sleep here, but we have some rules: you have to be reasonably quiet after 1 am. And I want the girls sleeping in the spare bedroom in the basement. Boys, you can sleep elsewhere down there. Fair?"

Everyone nodded. "Thanks, Mr. Anderson," Erin said.

* * *

><p>After dinner, the group settled back in the basement for Blaine to open his gifts and then to watch <em>Ghostbusters<em>. Erin held out her package first. "It's from me and Becca," she said.

"Thanks," Blaine replied as he tore off the paper. The paper revealed a brown and black shoebox. Blaine shot Erin and Becca a confused glance.

"Just open it up!" Becca said.

Blaine opened it and found a pair of white converse. Not his first choice for color, but nice nonetheless. That was when he saw something else on them, something that definitely wasn't supposed to be there. He picked up the shoe and saw "That which makes you different makes you strong" written on the canvas in Erin's neat handwriting.

"We were thinking that we could write different things on them...you know, like inside jokes or stuff like that," Becca explained.

"It's awesome. Thanks, guys!"

"My turn!" Shane exclaimed. He handed Blaine a small square box. Blaine took it gingerly, not quite sure what to expect from his brother. He tore the paper off and exposed...a box of s'mores Pop Tarts.

"Uh...gee, thanks, Shane," Blaine said.

"Look at the box, idiot," Shane said, sensing his brother's confusion.

Blaine turned the box around and let out a laugh. On the front of the box was a picture of him underneath a banner that said "Happy Birthday, Blaine!"

"Wow, this is really cool!" Blaine said. "A little strange, but cool nonetheless!"

Shane grinned and hugged his brother. "Only the best for you, bro," he said.

Lastly, Micah set a bag in front of Blaine. From it, he extracted a slender wrapped package.

"Really, Micah? A book?" Blaine asked.

Micah raised his eyebrows. "Just open it," he instructed.

Blaine ripped the paper uncertainly, and out fell a book entitled _Wooikee Cookies: The Official _Star Wars _Cookbook. _

"It's for children," Micah explained. "Even you should be able to manage to make some of this."

Blaine tried to shoot Micah a withering glare, and almost succeeded for a second or so before cracking up. "Obviously you have faith that I can improve."

"Oh you poor, naive soul," Shane said.

This caused the entire group to fall into gales of laughter for a few minuted.

When the laughter finally died down, Blaine said, "Thanks you guys." He gave Erin, who was sitting next to him, an awkward one-armed hug.

"Aww, group hug!" Shane exclaimed before jumping on the two of them.

"Alright, come on in," Blaine invited in a slightly muffled voice.

When the group broke apart, there was a momentary awkward silence. Everyone settled back into their seats on the couches and pillows on the floor.

"Time for the movie?" Blaine suggested.

"Sure," Micah said.

"What movie?" Becca asked.

Blaine grinned guiltily. "You have a choice. There are three, and if we have time, we can watch all of them."

"And the three are...?"

"_Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, _and _The Princess Bride."_

"So this is basically an 80s movie geek fest?" Becca asked.

"Pretty much."

* * *

><p>By three in the morning, everyone was exhausted. Micah had fallen asleep and was leaning on Shane, who grinned guiltily when he caught Blaine's eye.<p>

"I think it's time for us to go to bed," Erin suggested, holding out her hand to help Becca up.

"Night!" Blaine called after their retreating backs.

Once the girls had exited the room, Shane turned to Blaine as best he could. "Should we wake him up?" he asked, indicating the still sound asleep form of Micah lying on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Prod him lightly."

Shane gave Micah a light nudge. The older boy shifted slightly and groaned a little before picking his head up and blinking at the two curly haired boys in front of him. "Did I fall asleep?" he asked.

Shane nodded.

"Sorry," Micah said, getting up slowly and walking over to his sleeping bag. As soon as he reached it, he collapsed once more.

"I didn't mind," Shane mumbled.

Blaine rolled his eyes at his brother and best friend before also crawling into his sleeping bag.

* * *

><p>Erin curled up in her sleeping bag on the floor of the spare bedroom, next to Becca. Despite the hour, neither girl was all that tired any more. For a while, they simply sat in silence. Finally, Becca shifted and sighed.<p>

"So...Mr. Anderson?"

Erin exhaled.

"I didn't realize quite how bad he was," Becca continued. "I guess I always hoped Blaine was exaggerating."

"Same."

"My parents have never outright said anything, but they're really conservative. I don't think they could ever be so … homophobic, though."

"My parents surprised me. I know they don't love it, but they accepted me," Erin said.

"You're lucky."

Erin sat up and leaned over her girlfriend. "I'm lucky because I have you."

Becca met Erin's lips lightly before both fell back on their pillows. In the darkness, their hands searched until they found each other. The girls fell asleep like that, hands intertwined, smiles dancing on their lips.

* * *

><p>By 11 the next morning, the group was gathered in the kitchen. No one was quite awake yet; most were puffy-eyed and yawning.<p>

Sitting on the countertop was a box filled with bagels, donuts, and muffins. As the others helped themselves to the food, Blaine opened a cabinet and asked, "What do you guys want? Coffee? Tea? Hot chocolate? Juice? Milk? Water?"

"Coffee," Erin answered immediately while Becca nodded fervently from beside her.

Blaine poured two mugs of coffee for the girls while Shane dug through the cabinets, trying to find tea bags for Micah. He and Blaine indulged in steaming mugs of hot chocolate despite the warm temperature outside.

They sat around the kitchen table in a sleepy silence broken only by slurps or chinks of mugs hitting the table.

"So," Becca began, revived by the caffeine in her coffee.

Shane grinned. "Yep."

"Where are your parents?" Micah asked.

"Out," Blaine answered.

"They're not really home all that often," Shane supplemented.

"That sucks," Becca said.

"Yeah, but if they were home more often, then they'd notice us more. And then dad would also probably have noticed everything that happened to Blaine this year...which means-" Shane began, but was cut off by Blaine.

"-No more favorite son," Blaine finished.

"Well, that was depressing," Erin said into the tense silence. It worked the trick; the others joined in her laughter. It carried on a bit longer than usual, perhaps due to their sleep-deprived states.

"Hey, Becca, when does your school let out?" Micah asked.

"End of May."

"Lucky. We have exams the first week of June."

"At least you only have to be there part of the day," Shane said. "I have to be at school the entire week because we don't have final exams in middle school..."

"Don't worry, soon you'll be a big kid like us," Blaine said, jokingly ruffling his brother's hair.

"Define 'big,' Blaine," Shane said, standing up, pulling Blaine with him, and flaunting the two or three inches that he had over him.

"Shut up," Blaine said, pushing his brother back into his seat.

* * *

><p>As the school year wound to a close, Blaine found himself thinking longingly of the summer. True, he'd stay home most of the summer and would therefore have to deal with kids from school in town, but at least he wouldn't have to actually be <em>in <em>school.

Unfortunately, the bullies didn't seem to think quite the same way as Blaine. They saw the summer as three months without their two favorite punching bags, and had accordingly vowed to make the most of the last few weeks of school. Micah went to retrieve his lunch bag from his locker one day and found the word "fag" written across it in Sharpie. He'd had to call the janitors to get them to clean it up. A few hours later, Micah was called down to the office and given a stern talking to about destruction of school property, as if _he _had written that on his own locker.

Blaine found himself in the equipment closet at least once a week. Occasionally, Micah joined him there. Erin always swung by the gym between classes to make sure no one was there, so they were never locked up for too long.

One particularly bad Wednesday just over a week before finals, Blaine was leaving the lunch line. He was tripped in the cafeteria and tumbled across the floor. His face had come in such hard contact with the floor that his nose was swollen and bleeding by the time he joined Erin and Micah at the back steps. After school, Blaine found his bike completely doused in glitter. When he tried to wipe it away, he found that it had actually been glued on. Two passing boys called out, "Nice fairy dust, homo!" before continuing on their way to the buses.

Erin's sufferings were never physical, but they still hurt. Blaine and Micah could walk down a hallway and be mostly ignored, excepting perhaps a few hands showing them or feet stuck out to try to trip them. Erin, however, couldn't walk down any hallway in silence. Catcalls followed her everywhere she went in school, and in classes, too.

By the time the last Friday in May rolled around, everyone was eager to be done with school. Unfortunately, Becca was the only one who could actually enjoy the freedom of the weekend as the others still had school. The five gathered at the Anderson house as usual. Blaine and Micah sat together, studying biology and English. Becca tried quizzing Erin on her spanish translations, but quickly gave up.

"Erin, if you're just going to grab the cards from me to make sure I'm telling you everything, why don't you just study on your own!" Becca exclaimed.

The scene froze for a moment. This was the first time anyone had heard anything but peachy perfection between the two girls.

Becca sighed and sank back down into her chair. "Sorry, that was..."

"No," Erin interjected. "I've been really tense and on edge lately. It's okay."

Becca leaned over and gave Erin a lingering kiss.

"Come on, there are other people here too! Cool it!" Blaine called jokingly, glad that the two girls had cooled down after their momentary flare-up.

"Sorry, babe," Erin said amid giggles. "Jealous?"

"Of course," Blaine said with a roll of his eyes before turning back to his notes.

Erin took her flash cards from Becca and began studying on her own. Shane got up from his seat at the table, and walked over to Becca's seat on the couch. "Bored?" he asked her.

"Little bit."

"Want to go do something? We can go downstairs so we don't interrupt them."

"Don't you have any homework?"

"Not really. Since school's almost over, all I have are a few last-minute worksheets and stuff, but nothing that I need to devote too much time to."

"Awesome," Becca answered. "Let's go."

Shane held out a hand and helped pull Becca up from the couch.

The two walked over to the stairs to the basement, Shane taking a quick detour at the kitchen to grab a bag of pretzels. Once downstairs, he turned to Becca. "So, what are you up for?"

"Um, I don't know. Whatever you want to do is fine with me, really."

"Okay. How about TV then?"

"Seriously, I'm cool with anything."

Shane turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he settled on something that suited him. After a few minutes of silence, Becca turned to him.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Something personal?"

"Uh, I guess," Shane answered. He could hear the hint of seriousness in Becca's tone, so he muted the TV and turned toward the older girl.

"Are you...gay? I don't really care either way, but after the other night, I was just wondering."

"I – uh, I think so," Shane sputtered. "Yeah."

Becca smiled warmly at the boy. "Obviously Blaine isn't exactly the best example of why coming out is a good thing, and I don't care if you are out or not. It's not my business. But thanks for telling me."

"I want to," Shane blurted out before he could stop himself.

"What?"

"I want to come out. To everyone. Especially to my mom. But, like you said, after everything that happened to Blaine this year, and everything that my dad says, I'm just … scared."

"It's okay to be scared. Don't you think the rest of us are terrified, too?"

"Right, I know. I just don't want you guys to think that I'm ashamed if I go around and pretend to be straight."

"We never would. We all love you," Becca said warmly before pulling Shane into a long hug. After the two broke apart, Becca placed her hands on Shane's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Now, can I pry a bit more?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but am I sensing something between you and Micah?"

Shane turned bright red. "Uh... I don't – I mean, I do … but _he_..."

Becca laughed loudly at the boy's struggle for words. "Oh my God, you are _so _far gone," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"You've totally fallen for him, haven't you?"

"Well, yeah. Why are you laughing?"

"Just because you're so nervous about all of this," Becca said, trying to calm down.

"Well, it doesn't matter because it's not like he likes me," Shane admitted. "So I'd appreciate it if you kept this between us."

"Of course. My lips are sealed."

* * *

><p>Saturday night, Erin took a well-deserved break from studying to go out with Becca.<p>

"I feel like I haven't seen you for ages!" she said after they slid into their booth at the restaurant.

Becca reached her hand across the table to take Erin's. "It's because you've been studying too hard! You can't work constantly – your brain will explode!"

Erin chuckled. "What do you think this is? You're saving my life right now. If I wasn't here, I'd be at home, studying, forcing my brain to self-combust or something."

"Well, I do try my hardest."

"So, how was your alone time with Shane yesterday? Sorry the rest of us were so boring."

"Actually, it was great."

"Oh?" Erin raised her eyebrows. "Do tell."

"Well, he admitted to me that he is gay, but he said that he's too scared to come out after everything that happened to you and Blaine and Micah this year."

"Yes, but I already knew that, or most of that, from Blaine," Erin said.

"I know, but this was direct from the source. Anyway, that's not the interesting part. You know how we'd noticed where Micah's attention seemed to fall during Shane's recital?"

Erin nodded eagerly.

"Well, it seems that Shane has quite a crush on Micah. And judging from everything we've seen between the two of them, I'd bet that Micah has a thing for Shane too," Becca finished triumphantly.

"Hm, that _is _interesting."

* * *

><p>Before Blaine arrived at school Monday morning, Erin turned to Micah.<p>

"So," she said,

"So...?"

"Shane."

"What?"

"You?"

"Me?"

"Yep."

"Wait – I'm confused. Can we stop talking in one-word statements?" Micah asked.

Erin sighed, as if Micah had just asked her to climb a mountain. "I've noticed some things lately. Between you and Shane. You two seem to be becoming really good friends. And you two are really close when you're together."

Micah was silent. He thought he knew where Erin was heading, but he wasn't going to give her any assistance.

"You and Shane. Do you think anything could happen there?"

"I, uh, I don't know. Maybe?" Micah replied. However, his blush spoke the truth for him.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I was just wondering."


	21. Chapter 21

Blaine exited his geometry classroom feeling as if he had been hitting his head repeatedly on the desk. Math was definitely _not_ his thing. Not only had it been a difficult exam, but it was also an extremely long exam. Blaine had left at least three problems blank and didn't even have time to start the last question. Hopefully he would be able to scrounge a B.

Upon meeting Erin outside the front doors, Blaine noted that she didn't look any happier than he felt. "How'd it go?" he asked tiredly.

"Like crap," she responded sourly. "I definitely mixed up when to use the preterit and subjunctive and whatever other tenses we were supposed to know in my essay. And I wrote about my dog. I don't even have a dog. It was terrible."

"At least your exam was _supposed _to be in a different language," Blaine said. "I'm pretty sure that I only understood about half of the works on my geometry exam. The rest was just … God knows what."

Erin laughed. "Well, at least we can all relax now! That was the last exam of the year!"

"Thank God," Blaine said in agreement. "I don't think I could have stood one more minute in that building!"

Micah came jogging out the door to meet the two, holding a paper clutched in his hand and with a large grin on his face.

"Why are you so happy?" Erin asked.

"Why aren't you? Exams are over!" Micah replied.

Erin gave him a look that clearly stated that she knew that wasn't all that the boy was excited about.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I just aced my English exam, and then afterwards, my teacher wanted to talk to me in private. She said that she'd recommended me for the paper staff for next year! She showed the advisor one of my papers and they want me to be a writer for The Tiger Tribune!"

"Micah, that's fantastic!" Erin exclaimed, hugging the younger boy.

"Congrats!" Blaine said. He gave Micah a high-five as soon as Erin released him.

"Now we have a real reason to celebrate," Erin said.

"School letting out wasn't reason enough for you?" Blaine asked.

"Well, yeah, but so was everyone else. Now we're being original."

Micah rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Shall we get a move on? Shane's school should be letting out soon."

The group began walking down the street towards the middle school.

"Is Becca meeting us downtown?" Blaine asked, turning toward Erin.

"No, she left last night for vacation with her family. They're going to Pennsylvania, I think."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah. She'll be back in a couple of weeks, though. Are either of you guys doing anything over the summer?"

"We usually go abroad somewhere over the summer, I'm not really sure about this year though," Blaine said.

"Wow," Micah said quietly. "I've never even been out of the country."

"I've gone to visit relatives in Canada. But that's just about it," Erin said.

Blaine felt slightly awkward around his two friends. The significant disparity between his parents' annual income and theirs' rarely came up, and it never seemed to be an issue, but Blaine did usually try to keep quiet about certain things.

"Well," Micah said, shattering the silence, "I think I'm going to try to get a job over the summer. You know, keep busy, earn some cash ..."

"I have running camp and then preseason, but none of that starts until August. We might go visit some relatives, but otherwise I'm here the whole summer."

"Once Shane and I figure out our plans, I'll let you know so we can figure out how we're going to spend these next few blissful months," Blaine said.

They now approached the middle school just as the final bell was ringing. Only a few moments later, the doors burst open and preteens came pouring out. Erin, Blaine, and Micah waited on a bench outside the main office doors, hoping to catch Shane as he ran out.

Shane was one of the last kids to exit the building. He was walking with a few other boys, but upon seeing his brother, he turned to them and uttered a word of farewell. Their disapproving glances were not lost on Blaine.

Shane, noticing nothing, came running over to the trio. "Hey!" he called.

"Hey, little brother. How does it feel to be _officially _done with middle school?" Blaine asked.

"Fantastic," Shane said fervently. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Well," Erin began, "we don't need to take the bus. It's not too long of a walk downtown, and anyway, it's really nice out."

The others agreed and they began their walk. A group of four couldn't walk together along the sidewalk; instead, they split into two groups of two. Blaine and Erin led the group, talking about neutral topics such as which movie they would go see that night.

Shane and Micah lagged behind. Micah soon found himself overanalyzing everything he said and did. Shane was animatedly talking about his classes for next year. Micah was trying his hardest to pay attention, but then he noticed his arms. Did they always swing like that? He suddenly felt like a gorilla. He tried to manage the swinging, but now they were jerky and irregular. As his arm swung forward, he felt it make contact with Shane's hand. Micah blushed furiously and stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. He missed Shane's small smile at the contact.

"Which teachers should I try to get?" Shane asked.

"Well, you definitely need to avoid Strickland," Micah said. Realizing what that implied, he quickly added, "I mean because you look so much like Blaine. He'd definitely know you were related and then he'd probably hate you too."

Shane chuckled appreciatively. "Yeah, I figured that one out on my own. Who do – _did_ – you have for English?"

"I had Ms. Corey. She's really nice, but not a tough grader or anything. It was a pretty easy class actually."

"Sounds like my kind of teacher," Shane said. "I'm so excited for high school!"

"Believe me, it's not all it's cracked up to be."

"Yeah, but you're there." There was a slightly awkward silence after Shane's admission. "And Blaine and Erin," he added quickly, trying to cover up his slip. "All my real friends are there already."

_Friends_, Micah thought, _that's all we are_.

"Movie now or eat first?" Erin said, turning around to address the two boys. Neither had noticed that they had already arrived downtown.

"Uh...how about food?" Micah said. Shane nodded in agreement. Blaine looked at the two of them and raised his eyebrows at Shane. The younger brother blushed and looked away.

"Where do you want to eat?" Blaine asked. He was faced with a silence from everyone else.

"In case you hadn't realized it already," Micah said, "we're all pretty indecisive."

"Fine," Blaine said. "I guess I get to decide then." He began walking down the street and the others followed behind him blindly.

Blaine proudly stopped in front of Pizza Castle, a small, locally-owned pizza joint that served the best pizza around (at least in Blaine's opinion it was the best), but was out of the way, so few people knew about it. Erin and Micah gave him questioning looks, but Shane's countenance immediately brightened upon seeing the quaint building and he plowed ahead through the doors.

"Trust me. This place is fantastic," Blaine said in response to Micah and Erin's doubtful looks. "Not many people know about it though since it's kinda far from most of the exciting stuff downtown."

"It's cute," Erin said.

"And it smells good," Micah added.

The three pushed through the doors after Shane and joined him at a booth in the corner. Almost immediately, a waitress came over to the table to take their drink orders. Micah and Erin poured over the menu, but Blaine and Shane sat patiently, waiting for their friends to decide what they wanted.

"Do you go here that often that you have the menu memorized?" Erin asked.

"Not really. It's actually been a while since we've been here...a couple of months, at least," Blaine explained.

"We just know what's good here," Shane supplemented.

"And that is...?" Erin asked.

"Deep dish pizza with onions, pepperoni, sausage, olives, and mushrooms. Garlic on the crust," Shane said with a dreamy expression on his face.

Blaine continued, "The owner's from Chicago, so his deep dish is actually pretty legit. You can't eat it with just your hands. You _need _a fork and knife."

"Well," Shane said, "I guess you could _technically _eat it with your hands, but it'd be disgustingly messy..."

"I get it," Erin said while Micah chuckled appreciatively.

"You ready to order?" Blaine asked the rest of the table, seeing the waitress approaching from the corner of his eye.

"I think so," Micah replied musingly.

"Y'all ready?" the waitress asked cheerily.

Shane relayed the order for his and Blaine's small pizza.

"Uh...I'll just get a small cheese," Erin said.

"I'll have a small hawaiian," Micah said.

Everyone passed in their menus to the waitress, who said, "Great. They'll be out here in about 25 minutes."

As soon as she walked away, Micah turned to the others. "Won't we have a lot of extra pizza? I mean, you two are splitting one, but they sound really filling..."

"Exactly," Shane said.

"We can all kinda share. And then there'll be extra to eat later," Blaine elaborated.

The group fell into easy conversation while waiting for the food to arrive. Shane and Micah were sitting next to each other, and every so often one's hand would accidentally brush the other's. Every time this happened, they both pulled away, blushing profusely. Erin observed this with a bemused grin on her face.

When the pizzas arrived, Shane was the first to dig in.

"I'm starving here," he said as he pulled a giant slice of pizza onto his plate and began ferociously cutting it apart. Once the first bite entered his mouth, he closed his eyes and sighed in contentment. "It's like a little slice of heaven," he said.

Micah grinned and began eating his slice with more dignity than the boy sitting next to him. "Oh my God," he said after swallowing. "This is fantastic."

Shane and Blaine exchanged triumphant smiles. "Told you," the younger boy said.

"Movie next, right?" Erin said.

Mouth full of pizza, Blaine just nodded in agreement.

"Which movie?" Shane asked, mouth full. He received nothing in response but a withering glance from Erin. "Sorry," he said, swallowing. "Which movie?"

"I don't know. What's out now?"

"Uh, there's _Up, The Hangover_, _Adventureland_, _Angels and Demons_..." Blaine began reciting.

"Not _Angels and Demons_," Micah said. "Movies based on books are never as good."

"Fine, not that. Any of the others sound good?"

"Well, _The Hangover_'s rated R, right? So we can't get into that," Shane said.

"And I'm not really a fan of Kristen Stewart," Erin said.

"But Ryan Reynolds is in _Adventureland_, too," Blaine pointed out.

Erin shot him a look that immediately shut him up.

"Well?" Shane asked.

"Well, I think you all know that I vote for _Up_," Blaine said.

"Any objections?" Micah asked.

No one raised their voices against the movie.

"So it's settled," Erin said. "We'll go catch _Up _after this."

The waitress came back over to the table. "Are y'all done eating? Want me to box those up for you?"

"Yes please," Micah responded in his kind, quiet voice.

"Sure thing. I'll be back in just a minute."

Erin slid the box of left-over pizza into her bag, and the group paid and left the restaurant. As they were exiting, Blaine stopped short, grabbed Micah by the shoulders, turned the other boy around, and pointed at the door to the restaurant.

"Hey! – what are you doing?" Micah asked, brushing Blaine's hands off.

"You said you wanted to get a summer job, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, why not work here?"

Micah stared at Blaine. "What?"

"Look, they're hiring," Blaine said, pointing to the sign on the door. "Plus, it's out of the main downtown area, so you won't run into many people from school, you'll get really good tips, and I bet there's a wicked employee discount."

"I don't know, Blaine," the other boy objected.

"No, it's a really good idea!" Shane said as he joined the conversation.

Micah looked to Erin, pleading with his eyes for her to take his side. "Sorry, Micah, you're on your own on this one. I think it's a really good idea," Erin said with the slightest hint of a grin on her face.

"It's settled then!" Shane exclaimed as he reentered the restaurant and asked the manager for an application.

"But –" Micah objected weakly. "Fine," he said resignedly, accepting defeat as he took the application and stuffed it into his knapsack.

* * *

><p>After the movie let out, the four gathered in the courtyard outside the theatre.<p>

"Hey, Blaine," Erin said, grabbing the boy's arm. "I think I dropped my phone in the theatre. Can you help me look for it?"

"Oh, um, sure," Blaine replied, shooting his friend a confused look at her urgency. They walked back into the theatre, at which point Erin sat down on a bench in the lobby.

"Want to tell me what's going on?" Blaine asked, sitting down next to her.

"Oh, come on. You can't honestly tell me that you don't see anything between those two," Erin said.

"Oh."

"Well?"

"I mean, Shane told me that he … but do you really think that they … and Micah?" Blaine spluttered.

"Yes," Erin answered simply and firmly.

"Oh."

"Let's give them a few minutes."

* * *

><p>Shane and Micah sat on a bench outside the theatre, waiting for Erin and Blaine.<p>

"Uh, Shane?" Micah asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah?" the younger boy answered, turning his eyes on Micah's face.

"I was wondering … do you think maybe – you'd want to go out sometime? With me?"

Shane was silent for a moment. He looked away from Micah to hide the huge grin that was now spreading across his face. "Yeah. I'd like that."

Micah smiled in relief. "Good. Great. How about Sunday?"

"Sure." Shane nodded his head enthusiastically. "I think I'm free all day."

"Cool."

When Erin and Blaine exited the theatre a few minutes later, Erin's face broke into a triumphant grin upon seeing the two boys.

* * *

><p>"So?"<p>

Shane looked up from where he was sitting on the floor of his room. Blaine stood casually in the doorway, hands in his pockets and an expectant grin on his face.

"What?" Shane asked, determined to avoid his brother's eyes.

"Come on. Do I seriously need to spell it out for you?"

"Spell what out?"

"Really?" Blaine rolled his eyes. "Fine. You and Micah."

Shane blushed.

Blaine walked past the threshold, shut the door, and sat down next to his brother. "Spill?"

"He asked me out. That's all."

"What? When? Where?"

"Sunday. I'm not sure what or anything, though."

"What – what about dad? How are you going to get out for a couple of hours and explain it to him?"

Shane's face fell. "I, uh, I hadn't thought about that."

"He probably won't care," Blaine said quickly, trying to alleviate Shane's worries. Realizing what his previous statement implied, however, Blaine rushed to add: "Not that he won't care that you're going out, just that he'll assume you're with Maggie or another friend. You don't have to tell him who you're with. A little white lie never killed anyone."

"Yeah," Shane agreed, somewhat unsurely. "Right. Thanks, Blaine."

"Anytime, little brother," Blaine said with a warm smile. He clapped Shane on the shoulder before standing up and exiting the room.

When Blaine entered his room, he quietly took a seat on his bed. He had a strange empty feeling inside him. It's not that he was jealous, he had no feelings for Micah, but he had always assumed that, as the other brother, he would be the first one to step into the world of dating. (For real – Erin didn't count since neither was interested in the other).

Picking up his guitar and quietly strumming, Blaine scolded himself. He was happy for Shane. And for Micah. They were both his friends, two of the most important people in his life. He wanted what was best for them. He wanted them to be happy. This was...it was just petty thoughts.

* * *

><p>Shane stood somewhat awkwardly in the entrance way of the downtown Barnes and Noble. He felt so unlike himself. Usually, he was brimming with exuberance and energy, but right now, Shane Anderson wanted nothing more than to hide behind a large rock. He nervously pulled at the hem of the purple tee shirt that he was wearing over his black jeans. His unruly curly hair, so like his brother's, was especially clean today, having undergone two washings and extra conditioner. As a result, it was extra soft, bouncy, and shiny. Shane had then spent almost an hour on the phone with Erin, attempting to pick out the perfect outfit. Finally they had settled on his current ensemble; not too nice, as it was an afternoon date, but also not too casual. Just enough to show that he wanted to look his best.<p>

His breath caught in his throat as two boys he recognized from school passed him. "Hey, Anderson," John Adams, one of the boys, said as he stopped to chat.

"Oh, h-hey John, Steve," Shane answered nervously.

"What're you doing here?" Steve, a tall, muscular, and tanned boy with dark hair and smoldering grey eyes, asked.

"Oh, I'm just waiting for some people. I'm meeting someone soon," Shane said, voice cracking in nervousness. The other two boys exchanged grins at the voice crack, but said nothing.

"Hey, man, is it that chick Maggie that you're always hanging around?" Steve asked, winking at Shane.

Shane was growing increasingly flustered. "Um, no – no, I'm not meeting Maggie, just another friend..."

The door to the Barnes and Noble opened and Micah walked in. His face immediately brightened upon seeing Shane standing there and waiting for him, but quickly changed to confusion and then a mix of worry and anger.

Shane was standing in the vestibule waiting for him, just like they'd planned, but he looked absolutely terrified as two boys stood in front of him, backs to the door. Micah caught Shane's eye, and Shane mouthed the words, "Call me!" and "Go!" before turning back to the two boys.

A moment later, Shane's phone rang. "Sorry, this might be them," he excused himself to John and Steve.

"Nice man," John said with a grin.

"We'll leave you to it," Steve added. "See you around, Anderson."

As the two boys walked away, Shane answered his phone with a loud, "Hey!"

"What's wrong?" Micah immediately asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it was just a couple of guys from school," Shane answered.

"And you didn't want them to see us together?" Micah guessed in a small voice.

"No! I mean, yes, but not because of you – Listen, I can explain better in person. Where are you?"

"I'm on one of the benches across the street."

Shane hung up his phone and rushed across to Micah. Before he could even open his mouth, though, Micah spoke. "Look, Shane, I really like you, but if you don't want to do this, I'm okay. You don't have to pretend for me, okay?"

"What are you – ? No, Micah, it's not that at all. I like you too. A lot. Just ask Blaine. It's just that I've seen Blaine come home from school so many times when he's been beaten up or whatever just because he's gay. And I'm scared... So, yes, I do really, _really _want to go out with you, but I don't want to come out just yet."

Micah smiled a little. "It's okay, I totally understand. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't just me."

"Believe me," Shane said with a large grin, "it is most definitely _not _you."

"Well now that that's settled, shall we go?" Micah asked, standing up and holding out a hand to Shane. Shane took the older boy's hand as he stood up and squeezed it slightly before letting go.


	22. Chapter 22

Blaine sat in his bedroom listening for any noises downstairs. About 20 minutes ago, the home phone had rung and Bart had left. Blaine assumed that he was picking Shane up.

The shrill ring of his cell phone shocked him out of his reverie. "Hello?" he asked.

"Is Shane home yet?"

"Nice to hear from you, Erin. I'm doing well, thanks for asking," Blaine replied sarcastically.

"Oh, come on. Don't pretend that you're any less anxious to hear the details of their date. Actually, considering that Shane is your little brother and Micah is your best friend, you should be way more anxious than me. And yet you seem oddly calm."

"To answer your first question: no, but I think dad just went to pick him up. And I'm trying to give him space, let him tell me, instead of being freakishly eager. I'll tell you everything once I find it out though."

"Seriously, Blaine? Now is not the time to be a gentleman."

"Erin," Blaine threatened.

"Fine, fine. Maybe I'll just call Micah," Erin said. "You know, I was trying to make it seem like we weren't interfering in their affairs by calling you since you're Shane's brother and he has to tell you, but whatever. I'll just bother Micah."

"Wouldn't it be easier to look like we're not interfering in their affairs by _not interfering_?" Blaine asked, bemused.

"Can it, Anderson, and call me as soon as you hear anything."

"Will do. Bye, Erin!"

"Bye."

Blaine set down his phone and chuckled lightly. Erin really did mean well, she was just worried that if the two didn't work out, their entire group's dynamic might be ruined. True, Shane could find other friends since he wasn't actually out, but Blaine and Erin were now friends with both of them, and Blaine didn't want to be forced to choose between his brother and his best friend.

The security system beeped as the front door opened. Blaine could hear Shane and their father chatting lightly as the entered the house. Quickly, Blaine dashed across the room, grabbed a book, and plopped on his bed. _Why am I doing this? _he wondered. _It's not like I'm hiding anything, I'm in my own room for Pete's sake! _Yet he stayed in the same position of feigned nonchalance as Shane walked up the stairs, down the hallway, past Blaine's door, and into his own room.

* * *

><p>Micah's mother picked him up soon after Mr. Anderson left. Mr. Anderson, of course, did not know that Shane had been with Micah, nor did he see the boy. When they arrived home, Shane found himself sneaking down the hallway. He wasn't quite sure why – he almost wanted Blaine to ask him about the date, which had been absolutely perfect. But he didn't want to offer up any information on his own. Let Blaine come to him.<p>

Blaine's door was open a crack and Shane observed the older boy engaged in a book. Perhaps Blaine wasn't all that curious.

Once inside his own bedroom, Shane pulled out his phone and began to type out a message to Maggie. They hadn't hung out as much lately since Shane had joined Blaine's group of friends, but she had been his main confidante, the first person Shane had texted after Micah asked him out.

_It was perfect. i really like him and he likes me 2. what do i do now? - S _

* * *

><p>Blaine was growing impatient and irritated from Erin's text bombardment urging him to go talk to Shane <strong>now<strong>. Shane had come home close to an hour ago, and he had yet to approach Blaine.

"Boys!" Marlene Anderson called up the stairs, "dinner in half an hour!"

"Okay mom!" Blaine heard the shout from Shane's room. Obviously the boy wasn't occupied with anything else. Blaine sighed and decided to bite the bullet and go over to Shane's room.

* * *

><p>Shane heard the knock on the door and smiled to himself. <em>Finally, <em>he thought to himself, _I'm about to burst waiting to tell someone about tonight!_

"Yeah?" he said aloud.

Blaine opened the door and came into Shane's room, leaning against the wall across from Shane's perch on his bed. "So?" the older boy prompted.

Shane smiled to himself in a self-satisfied way. Blaine chuckled. "I'm going to assume that that grin means that the date went well," he said as he matched his brother's grin.

Shane nodded. "It was great. Fantastic. Perfect."

Blaine raised his eyebrows, silently telling Shane to elaborate.

"First we got lunch at one of the places downtown. I can't remember the name. An Italian place maybe?"

"Who paid?" Blaine interjected.

Shane blushed deeply. "He said that since he asked me out, he had to pay. But I left the tip. When we left, we went to the park and walked around for a while. We got ice cream at one of the booths and sat on a bench eating it. After we finished it, we stayed on the bench and we talked for a long time. When we were walking back to town, we held hands." Shane was grinning so widely here that Blaine thought his face might split. "Until we actually got into town."

Both brothers shared a feeling of regret and sadness at this statement. They wished that they were able to parade around town with their partners like other kids they knew.

"And...?" Blaine prompted.

"And what? That was it," Shane said, feigning ignorance at the true question Blaine was asking. The pink tinge that was spreading across Shane's face, however, betrayed him and Blaine knew the answer to his unspoken question: _Yes, I want more. _We _want more._

* * *

><p>After dinner, Blaine and Shane both stood up and made to leave the table, but were prevented by their parents. Exchanging confused glances, they both sat back down and looked between the two adults sitting at either end of the table.<p>

"Now boys," Marlene began, "I know that the past few months … your father and I have been rather distant."

_Past few months? _Blaine thought. _Try years._

"It's been hard for all of us since your grandfather's death," Marlene continued. "I've been going back and forth between here and New York, and your father has been swamped at work. So, we haven't really been able to talk about vacation."

Bart chimed in now, "Your mother and I thought that a nice, relaxing vacation would be a welcome break for everyone. So we're going to be going to Italy later in the month. We'll spend a few days in Rome, but the rest of the time will be spent in a few small towns in the countryside."

"When – when do we leave?" asked Shane.

"In a week and a half," Marlene answered. She was confused by her sons' reactions; neither of them had expressed any enthusiasm at the announcement. Usually they both loved travel, and she knew for a fact that both wanted to go to Italy.

"Wow, that sounds great mom, dad," Blaine said. "Really fun. Italy, wow."

"Yeah, it should be cool," Shane added even less enthusiastically. He abruptly stood up from the table and announced, "Are we done? I'm going back to my room."

"Uh … of course, honey."

Both Blaine and Shane departed the kitchen for their bedrooms. As Marlene and Bart cleared the table in silence, Marlene pondered her sons' odd reactions, especially Shane's. _He has seemed different lately … ever since he started hanging around with Blaine and his friends._

* * *

><p>Friday morning, Micah pulled out his phone, trying to decide whether he should call Shane or not. They hadn't seen each other or talked really, since their date on Sunday. They had exchanged a few texts over the past few days, but nothing else. Now, however, his phone began ringing and the screen lit up with a number he didn't recognize.<p>

"Hello?"

"Micah Randall?" the voice at the other end of the line asked. It was a kind sounding man with a slight accent.

"This is he."

"Hi, I'm Joe Richardson from Pizza Castle. I was just looking through your application and I wanted to talk to you a bit about it. Do you have time now, or should I call back later?"

Micah's heart rate sped up. _An interview? _ "No, I'm free now," Micah answered, a slight quaver to his voice.

"Great."

* * *

><p>Shane decided that he had to bite the bullet and call Micah. After all, he would be leaving in just under a week; he didn't want to miss Micah and then let their potential relationship fizzle out.<p>

He pulled out his phone and dialed the familiar number. It rang once, twice, three times, and then Micah's voicemail message came on: "Hi, this is Micah. I'm not here right now, but leave a message and I'll try to call you back as soon as possible."

Shane hung up and sighed. What was Micah doing?

* * *

><p>Micah heard the beeping of another call coming in, but Joe was still talking. He was asking about hours that Micah could work, so he was thinking that he probably had the job...<p>

"All right, Micah, you seem like a pretty good fit for the job. I've already got next week's schedule all set up, but can I put you on for the week after?"

"Sure, great, yeah. That sounds good," Micah stuttered.

"I'll email you the schedule later in the week. Nice talking to you."

"Yeah, you too," Micah said. "Bye."

Micah hung up the phone and stood staring at it in silence for a minute. Suddenly, he jumped up in the air. "Yes!"

Then he remembered the call he'd gotten during the interview. He looked at his missed calls. Shane Anderson. His stomach did the same belly flop it always did when he thought about the goofy younger boy. Immediately he called Shane back.

"Hello?" Shane answered on the first ring.

"Hey," Micah said. "You called?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk about … stuff."

"Oh." _What would he want to talk about?_

"My parents just told me and Blaine about our vacation this summer. We're going to Italy. Next week."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"But I was thinking – wondering if maybe you wanted to see each other again before I go?" Shane asked nervously.

Relief flooded through Micah. For one frightening second, he had thought that Shane was going to say that he wasn't really interested in him. "Yeah," he answered, grinning broadly. "I'd really like that."

* * *

><p>In all the frenzy of packing for Italy, Shane barely had a spare moment to think about his impending second date with Micah. Which was probably for the better since he'd have been freaking out about it unnecessarily. Thankfully, Maggie decided to come over for moral support after their final dance practice before the summer break. She helped him pack and gave him tips on what to do and what to say. This time, the date was in the evening. A Monday evening. Two days before leaving.<p>

So, Saturday afternoon, in between advising Shane against bringing his entire collection of varied dance accessories, Maggie was also regaling him with tips on dress, conversation, and (terrifyingly) kissing.

"You're a righty, right?" Shane nodded. "Lean to the left when you go in for a kiss then."

"But...whatdoIdowithmylips?" Shane asked quickly after a minute. Maggie smiled, satisfied that Shane was actually listening to her. Before she could answer his question, though, he gasped and turned around. "Whataboutmy_tongue_?"

Maggie giggled. "Don't worry. Let it happen naturally. Plus, you probably won't get that far on your first kiss."

Shane blushed furiously and turned back to his closet to attempt to hide it from Maggie.

Seeing the effect her words had on the boy, Maggie decided to play around a bit more, see how far she could push him. All in good fun, of course. "If you want," Maggie began, a devilish grin on her face, "I could help you practice."

Shane turned around and spluttered. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Maggie let him go on for a minute longer before finally putting the poor boy out of his misery. "Relax, Shane, I was kidding," she said with a laugh. "I don't want to kiss you any more than you want to kiss me. No offense."

Shane playfully pushed her back on to his bed. "Don't do that again. I'm freaked out enough as is."

"Sorry, sorry, but you just get so funny when you're flustered. You start speaking all fast and you never stop moving. It's like you were trying to do our jazz routine or something... but without moving."

Shane shot her a glare and dropped the pile of shirts into his open suitcase. A brightly colored shirt at the top of the pile caught Maggie's eye.

"Oh no, you are not taking that with you," she scolded, picking up the brightly colored Hawaiian shirt.

"Why not? It's a summer shirt," Shane defended.

"Honestly, it's no wonder your parents don't know you and Blaine are gay – neither of you have enough fashion sense to fill a teaspoon."

Shane shot her a glare and pried the shirt from her hand. "Fine, I'll leave it here. But I'm not getting rid of it."

Maggie just rolled her eyes. "Speaking of fashion, what are you going to wear on Monday?"

"Well, I was thinking about that shirt," Shane responded playfully.

"Don't even joke about things like that," she scolded.

"I don't know," Shane said softly. "I'm not really sure what we're doing."

"Then call him and ask!"

"No! Nonononono!"

"Why not?"

Shane couldn't come up with a good answer to that. Maggie smiled triumphantly. When Shane turned back to his closet, she grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table.

_Hey :) - S _She typed out, and sent the message to Micah.

Seconds later, the phone vibrated in her hand.

_Hey yourself :P hows the packing going? - M_

Maggie grinned and typed out another message. Shane turned around and saw her with his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Maggie said as she pressed send.

Shane barreled across the room and snatched the phone from her hand. He groaned a little when he rad what she had just sent.

_Not too bad, thanks to maggies help. wondering if i should leave anything out for monday – S_

Before he could blow up at his best friend/pretend girlfriend, Micah responded.

_Just normal clothes, probably. was actually wondering if there was anything special you wanted to do before italy – M_

Shane grinned in spite of himself and Maggie uttered a quiet "Ha!" Shane chose to ignore her as he responded.

_Not really. i just want to see you – S_

* * *

><p>Micah looked down at the small screen of his phone, grinning like an idiot at the words on the screen.<p>

_Not really. i just want to see you – S _

Shane really wanted to see him before leaving.

_We'll figure something out – M_

* * *

><p>Blaine wasn't actually disappointed about Italy. In fact, Italy was on the top of his list of places to visit. But for some reason, he just couldn't get as excited about the trip as he wanted to. Maybe it was because he would be leaving friends behind. Sure, he had done that before, but none of his old friends had been nearly as important to him as Erin and Micah, and even Becca were.<p>

All day Saturday, Blaine was with Erin. Becca would be returning in two days, just when the Andersons would leave for Italy. He had filled her in on Shane's side of the first date, and told her that they'd planned a second one for before Italy. Now, the two were simply chatting about nothing in particular.

He felt a strong attachment to Erin. Not that he was attracted to her in any romantic way, but she was his first real friend at Stanton, she was one of the strongest people he knew. He loved her more than anything, like the sister he didn't have. He was glad that they got to spend their time together.

Of course, Blaine loved Becca, too. But it looked like it was going to get pretty awkward whenever the group hung out over the summer. Everyone was paired off. And that left Blaine alone. Maybe that was another reason why he didn't want to leave. He didn't want to get left out of something important, and come back and be even more disconnected than he already was. He didn't want to be the fifth wheel.

Before leaving the house that morning, Blaine had informed his father that he was going to be spending the day with Erin. Bart Anderson had grinned at his son and said, "Trying to get some quality time in before Italy? I get it son, it's always hard. Take all the time you want."

That had left a bit of a knot in Blaine's stomach. He wasn't totally lying to his father, but he still felt sick about the deception. He felt even sicker, though, about what his father might say if he knew the truth.

So, all in all, Blaine was happy to visit Italy, but he just wasn't feeling happy about the rest of his life.

* * *

><p>On Sunday evening, Shane told his father that he was going out with Maggie tomorrow. Bart gave Shane the same knowing grin he'd given Blaine before Blaine had left for Erin's house.<p>

"I'll need a ride downtown," Shane said. "We're meeting around 5. Will you be back from work by then?"

"I think I can work things out so that I can help my youngest son get some quality time with his girlfriend before he leaves."

Shane's stomach clenched. Not because he was lying to his father, he was much better at that than Blaine, but because of what the word girlfriend reminded him of. Maybe he would have a boyfriend by the end of the night...

Shane and Micah hadn't really discussed the details of their date after Saturday. However, Micah had promised to show Shane "a good American night, so he wouldn't forget his home in Italy."

He was nervously waiting at the bench across from Barnes and Noble, hoping to avoid anyone from school this time. Shane felt a tap on his shoulder and saw Micah standing behind him. Micah grinned when he saw how much the younger boy's eyes lit up upon seeing him.

"Ready?" Micah asked.

Shane nodded. "What are we doing?"

"Well," Micah began, "how do you feel about bowling? It seems to be the most American thing to do on a date, as far as I can tell."

Shane grinned. "Sounds great."

The boys played two games of bowling. Micah was surprisingly good at it, considering that he spends most of his time with his nose stuck in a book. Ironically, Shane was having much more trouble. He couldn't balance well in the slippery bowling shoes – he claimed it was because he wasn't accustomed to them yet. Micah won the first game by a landslide. For the second, though, he took pity on Shane and turned on the bumpers. Shane's score rose considerably, and he almost tied with Micah. Almost.

They exited the bowling alley laughing. Since it was a Monday night, it had been almost empty, and they boys had loosened up a bit around each other. Micah had, at one point, timidly placed his hand on the small of Shane's back. Minutes later, he gathered his courage and guided Shane through the motions.

They held hands for about a block, but dropped them when they came to the main part of downtown. Micah led the way to Five Guys.

"What's more American than a burger and fries?" he asked.

Shane's stomach rumbled in response.

The boys got their orders for carry out and carried them to an empty playground. They sat at a picnic table and ate. Their legs bumped underneath the table, but neither boy shifted position.

After eating, Shane, in his boundless energy, jumped on a swing and began pumping to get as high as possible. Micah sat at the table and watched the boy, a content expression on his face.

At the top of his arc, Shane gracefully leaped out of the swing and seemingly floated to the ground. Micah laughed and clapped as Shane bowed for the other boy.

"Want to take a walk?" Shane said.

"Sure," Micah said. They boys linked hands in the dusk and began to walk. Eventually, they approached a bench near a small garden.

"Want to sit?" Micah asked. Shane nodded.

They sat for a moment in silence. Micah shifted slightly and put his arm around Shane's shoulders. The younger boy turned to face him, and their eyes locked.

Shane grinned slightly, tried to remember everything Maggie had told him, and leaned in.

Micah leaned in towards Shane slowly.

Both boys closed their eyes.

A second later, their lips met.

It was soft, tender, sweet, and quick.

They broke apart after a few seconds, and just stared at each other for a minute.

Finally, Micah broke the silence. "Wow," he sighed, and smiled.

"Yeah," Shane agreed.

The boys eagerly leaned back in towards each other.

* * *

><p>AN: I APOLOGIZE SO MUCH FOR THE DELAY. I can now say that I completely understand why it takes the wonderful CP Coulter as long as it does for her to update (especially because her chapters are so much longer than mine). You just get so caught up in the rest of your life, and suddenly it's been 6 months! Heads up: I will only be updating during the summer (YAY! It's finally summer!). It's just too much for me during the school year. But thanks to everyone who is sticking with this despite the insane delay.


	23. Chapter 23

Blaine's phone beeped, pulling his concentration from his guitar.

_Have u heard anything yet? - E_

He sighed and began typing his response to his friend.

_No, but its only 8. dad hasn't left to pick shane up yet. - B_

* * *

><p>Shane and Micah pulled apart after a second round of intense kissing. Both were slightly breathless and sporting identical idiotic grins.<p>

"That was...great," Shane said. All his worries about kissing had evaporated as soon as his lips had touched Micah's for the first time.

Micah nodded fervently, and picked up Shane's free hand. They each had one arm wrapped around the other, and neither seemed to want to let go.

"You're amazing," Micah said quietly, and Shane blushed. The two sat in silence for a few seconds.

"Micah?" Shane finally said, breaking the silence. Micah's eyes immediately landed on Shane's.

"Yeah?" the other boy asked.

"I was wondering – I mean – are we," Shane stuttered, screwed up his face, and took a deep breath. "Let me start over. I really, really like you Micah. And that was better than anything I could have imagined. I was just wondering if you thought about what we are?" Shane rushed through the last part.

"Are you – um, wow," Micah managed after a short pause. He should have known that Shane would be brave enough to say this.

"Do you maybe want to be my boyfriend?" Shane finally asked.

Micah's face broke out into a grin and his breath caught in his throat as he tried to answer. Words wouldn't form in his mouth, so he just nodded his head. When he finally regained the ability to speak, Micah said, "Yes, of course!"

The boys leaned toward each other and kissed again.

This time, neither was as tentative. They were boyfriends now. _Boyfriends_. They didn't have to be nervous anymore.

Shane ran his tongue over Micah's lips, and Micah opened his mouth, admitting Shane's tongue in. His tongue ventured into Shane's mouth.

Shane ran his tongue across Micah's teeth and felt Micah's tongue as it circled within his own mouth.

There was a rustle of leaves, the crack of a branch, and the two boys broke apart. Micah pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked around. He saw a flicker of movement, and then the perpetrator jumped out from the bushes into the path in front of them: a squirrel. Both sighed and laughed nervously.

Micah looked down at his watch and was shocked to see that it was already 9:30.

"I hate to say this," he said, "but we should probably start heading back."

"One second," Shane said, and he leaned over and gave Micah one last lingering kiss. "Thank you," he said when he pulled away.

"For what?" Micah asked, thoroughly confused.

"Everything. This. Being my – my boyfriend." Shane couldn't help but grin when he said the word. It felt really good. Really right.

"Thank you," Micah responded. He held out a hand to help Shane up from the bench, and with the extra momentum, he pulled the boy into another kiss before they had to return to a world where they could only be friends.

* * *

><p>Shane practically sprinted up the stairs. In the hallway before his room, he performed a series of pirouettes and leaps, landing gracefully outside Blaine's door. He gathered himself together, took a deep breath, and knocked.<p>

Blaine opened it immediately, an expectant look on his face. He laughed as soon as he saw his brother's face. "I take it tonight went well?" Blaine asked as he let his brother into his room.

Shane could barely contain himself. "Yes! It was fantastic and perfect and amazing and-"

Blaine cut him off here. "You might want to lower the volume just a little. Mom and dad are probably going to be coming up any minute now."

Not even the prospect of his parents overhearing could dampen Shane's spirits as he told Blaine all about his perfect evening.

"Congrats," Blaine said, hugging his little brother. "I'm really happy for you."

"Oh! I have to tell Maggie everything, she made me promise!" Shane exclaimed, jumping out of Blaine's arms. _Yep, _thought Blaine, _that's just like Shane. Never stopping or slowing down. _He chucked lightly as his little brother tore out of the room.

Both boys immediately pulled out phones as soon as they were alone in their respective rooms. Blaine sent a message to Erin, simply saying, _shane just got home – B._

His next message was a little harder to send. He was finding it much more difficult to talk to his best friend, now that Micah and Shane were dating.

_Shane just got back and told me everything. im really happy for you both :) - B _

Almost immediately after, Blaine's phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw Erin's name. Sighing, he answered.

"Erin?"

"Hey!" she cooed.

"Hi Blaine!" came a second voice.

"Becca?" Blaine asked. "You're back? When did you get back?"

"Just this morning," she replied.

"We missed you," he said.

"Me too! Philly was so boring! And it seems that I missed quite a bit here. So spill. Everything."

Blaine laughed. Sometimes it amused how similar those two girls could be. Blaine began to recount the details that Shane had divulged to him. He paused to let the girls "ooh" and "ahh" at the cute moments, and had to hold the phone away from his ear when he got to the part when they decided to be boyfriends. Erin and Becca were screaming so shrilly, Blaine was sure that he would soon bleed from his ears.

"And that's it," Blaine finished, somewhat lamely, after telling them how excited Shane was upon his return home. "He literally danced in the halls like in an old movie."

"That is the cutest freaking thing ever!" Erin squealed. It was a little unnerving for Blaine to hear Erin like this. She was so … so girly. Not that Blaine didn't think of her as a girl, and she certainly wasn't butch, but she also wasn't usually the squealing, romantic, frilly type of girl either.

"Chill out, hon," Blaine heard Becca say, and he could imagine her trying to calm down the fiery redhead.

"Well I'm going to let you two to freak out now, okay?" Blaine said. "I've got to sleep soon. We have a ton of stuff to do in the morning."

"Of course," Erin said. "Have so much fun in Italy!"

"Sorry I couldn't actually see you!" Becca added.

"Hook up with as many hot Italian boys as you can!"

"Take tons of pictures!"

"And let me know the second you get back!"

"Bye!" both girls chorused together. "Love you, Blaine," Erin added.

"Love you too. Bye guys!"

* * *

><p>Micah sat in front of his computer at home. He, too, had been over the moon upon returning home, but he contained his enthusiasm a bit better than Shane. He had tried for a while to read one of his favorite books. But he had to put down one after another after another because he just couldn't concentrate hard enough.<p>

So now he was here. In front of the computer. With a blank Word document open in front of him.

He had never kept a journal before; he'd never seen the need to. Plus, it was kind of a girly thing. But he knew that tonight was a night he'd want to remember forever, even in a time when he might not be with Shane. This would still be a monumental moment in his life. Despite promises that he would never forget the smells, the texture of Shane's shirt, the taste of his mouth, Micah knew that the memories would fade. In a few years, months even, he wouldn't remember the moment as well as he did now. So he had to write it down so that it would be there forever.

* * *

><p>Blaine settled into his seat on the airplane, staring at the screen on the seat in front of him. When the plane took off, Blaine watched as his home grew smaller and smaller underneath him. The flight wasn't direct; they had two layovers. The first would be in Chicago and the second in Paris.<p>

At O'Hare, the Andersons had about three hours to kill before their next flight. Bart and Marlene were going to get lunch at Wolfgang Puck, but Blaine and Shane opted to get a large bucket of Garret's popcorn and explore the airport instead.

Blaine settled into his seat next to Shane. Their parents were in the row in front of them. Although Blaine preferred to have the window seat – he loved looking out the windows – he'd let Shane have it. It was preferable to having Shane sleep on his shoulder. Plus, international flights always had good media selections.

* * *

><p>Micah's first day working at Pizza Castle was a weekday, so it wasn't super busy. There was a small rush around noon, but nothing too overwhelming. When he first arrived, Joe showed him around the kitchen, explaining what Micah was expected to do.<p>

"We're not like a traditional restaurant. We're a small family-like group who works here. We help each other out. Sometimes you'll work the front, sometimes you'll bus tables, and sometimes you'll wait on customers. If someone in the back needs your help, we expect you to lend a hand. I'll have you start easy, though. Work the front today."

When Erin and Becca walked in, hand in hand, Micah tried to be serious and treat them as Joe had instructed him.

"Aww, look how cute he looks in his little uniform!" Erin squealed.

Becca shot Micah a look that clearly said, _Please forgive my crazy girlfriend._

They chatted for a few minutes before Micah directed them to a table.

"When do you get off work?" Becca asked as she took her seat.

"Four," Micah said. "Joe wants me to start slow, get used to the place before working the dinner rush."

"Come to my house after?" Erin asked. "And feel free to bring any extra delicious pizza!"

"I'll try," he said, "but I'm not making any promises about the pizza!"

Erin shot him a glare before breaking out in giggles.

When Micah's mother picked him up at the end of his shift, he asked to be dropped off at Erin's house. Micah caught the emotions running across her face; she'd obviously wanted to spend time with her son after his first official day of work, but she was glad that he'd finally found some friends.

Erin's mother answered the door at her house and smiled warmly at Micah before waving to his mother. As she guided him into the house, she said, "Erin tells me you got a job?"

Micah nodded.

"That's great. I wish she'd get a job, just for the summer. She's much too busy during the year with track, but with college coming up..." Mrs. Delaney's sentence faded away. "Why don't you go join the girls in the rec room downstairs. Dinner will be ready later."

Micah walked to the stairs to the basement. He could hear Becca's soft laughter over the tones of the _Something Damaged _theme song. He sighed, and walked into the room.

"Micah!" Erin squealed, "the working man!"

He grinned and sat down next to her on the couch. "Oh, you smell just like that fantastic pizza," Erin said in a dreamy voice as she took a deep breath.

"Take notes, Becca," Micah said, "no need to spend money on perfume – just smear a pizza on yourself!"

Becca laughed loudly while Erin punched the boy on the arm, perhaps a bit harder than what is usually considered "playful".

A commercial ended and Natasha Saunders' face appeared on screen.

"Shh!" Becca hushed her companions, despite the fact that they weren't even talking anymore. Erin rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's obvious crush.

Micah wasn't much interested in the show. Sure, the one actor was pretty attractive, but he wasn't the type to get star-struck or develop fanboy crushes. The exception to that rule was any character in one of the numerous novels Micah was constantly immersed in. Instead of watching the TV show, Micah pulled out his phone. He knew there was a crazy time difference, but he still typed out a message to Shane.

Erin saw him out of the corner of her eye. "Heard anything from him yet?" she whispered so as to not upset her girlfriend.

"Just a text saying they arrived. You? Has Blaine said anything?"

"Nope. But I'm waiting for him to find a gorgeous Italian boyfriend with a sexy accent. And then the two can have a tragically beautiful two week forbidden relationship."

Micah's face lost all color. When Erin noticed, she hastened to add, "But Shane would never do that, don't worry. Anyway, they'll probably only meet creepers-" Becca silently squeezed Erin's hand to get her to stop talking.

* * *

><p>Shane was still trying to get over his jet lag. Even though the Anderson's hadn't stopped to sleep until nightfall the first day, Shane still wasn't adjusted. So when his phone chimed around 2 am, he was easily stirred from an unusually light sleep. Shane reached over to grab his phone and felt butterflies in his stomach when he saw Micah's name.<p>

_Just finished first shift at work! how is Italy? gorgeous, im sure. check out the museums for me! - M_

Sleepily, Shane began typing out a response

* * *

><p>Back in Erin's basement, Micah's phone beeped. "Look at how red his face is getting!" Erin said gleefully. "It must be Shane."<p>

Micah unsuccessfully glared at Erin before opening the message.

_Its beautiful here but i wish i was with u. jet lag sucks btw – S_

Micah chuckled at the younger boy's message and felt a warmth spread through his body; any fears that Erin had accidentally caused in him earlier with her comments about gorgeous Italian men were obliterated. As much as he wanted to continue the conversation with the younger Anderson for hours, Micah instead typed back:

_I miss you so much. Now, go back to sleep! - M_

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca were celebrating Becca's drivers license – she'd only passed the test the day before. Becca pulled up outside of Erin's house at 10 in the morning with a full day planned ahead for them.<p>

"Hey!" Erin said with a large grin as she slid into the passenger seat. The girls stole a quick glance at the front of Erin's house before exchanging a quick kiss.

"Nice to see you," Becca said.

"So, what's the plan for today?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Becca relied coyly. "Shotgun controls the iPod."

Erin sighed and rolled her eyes as she took Becca's iPod and turned on Lady Gaga.

Becca drove for almost a half hour until they pulled up to a bowling alley.

"You know there's a bowling alley downtown, right?" Erin asked.

"Yeah, but I couldn't do _this _there, now could I?" Becca replied as she pulled Erin into a deep kiss.

When the girls pulled apart, they were both flushed and slightly short on breath. "Let's go in," Erin said, taking Becca's hand in hers.

* * *

><p>Blaine was confused by his parents. The Andersons were in a rental car on their way to Vatican City. <em>Vatican City<em>, thought Blaine, _we're not even religious. Why are we coming here? _ Stepping out of the car and walking through the brightly sunlit streets, Blaine couldn't help but concede that it was gorgeous, _But everything in Italy is beautiful. Why here? _

Shane was no help. He was thoroughly distracted by his cell phone, probably texting Micah. Blaine laughed darkly at the irony – his brother was texting his boyfriend in the middle of Vatican City and feeling no guilt, while Blaine was falling apart inside even though he'd never even kissed a boy. But Shane was much less concerned than Blaine for other reasons, too – he'd never been subjected to the same type of persecution that Blaine had suffered at the hands of his classmates and former friends. And hopefully he never would. Not if Blaine could help it.

Anyway, it wasn't like they were going to have a private meeting with the Pope or any other clergy. They were just here to sightsee.

* * *

><p>After a few rounds of bowling, Becca once again drove the girls to an undisclosed location, this time with a mischievous glint in her eye. She pulled up to a park and stopped the car.<p>

"Here?" Erin asked dubiously.

"Yep," Becca said with no elaboration. Instead, she went to the trunk of her car and pulled out a blanket and a basket. Erin's eyes widened in understanding.

"You made us a picnic?"

Becca nodded.

"I have the best, most thoughtful, hottest girlfriend in the world," Erin said. She emphasized each word with a kiss, and ended the statement with a deep, longing kiss that Becca only broke from when the picnic basket fell from her hand.

"Oops," she said and the two girls laughed in embarrassment.

* * *

><p>After Vatican City, Blaine and his family spent a day in Rome. While stopped at a gelato parlor, two gorgeous and tanned men walked down the street holding hands. Bart scoffed.<p>

"Look at that," he spat out, gesturing in their direction with his spoon. "Disgusting."

Marlene almost missed the crestfallen look on Blaine's face as she turned back to her pistachio gelato. She kept a closer eye on her oldest son for the rest of the day, and noticed that he refused to make eye contact with almost anyone – and especially refused to even look at men.

* * *

><p><strong>an: I'm not terribly excited by this chapter. It's mostly just filler. Things will pick up in the next few chapters and I'm much more excited about them. **

**Thanks to everyone for reading and for the reviews!**


	24. Chapter 24

It had been almost a month since Blaine and Shane had returned from Italy, and the summer was quickly winding down. A horrified Blaine realized one evening that he hadn't even started any of his summer reading or math packets, all of which were due on the first day of school. In a panic, he locked himself into his bedroom, turned off his phone and computer, and began reading _The Picture of Dorian Gray_.

Meanwhile, Shane was off on a date with Micah.

The two boys were sitting on the bench where they'd shared their first kiss. Since then, every date had seemed to lead there. To their bench. It was a sacred spot.

As Micah and Shane pulled apart from a rather intense make out session, both slightly breathless, Micah paused. He took Shane's hands in his and looked the younger boy in the eyes.

Shane raised an eyebrow, as if he was asking what was going through Micah's head at that moment.

"These last few weeks have been the best of my life, Shane," Micah began. "And even though you were away for so much of the time, I feel like you're the first person I've ever actually connected with. I think – no, I _know_ I love you, Shane Anderson."

Shane was frozen. There was no doubt inside of him that he felt the very same about Micah Randall, but this had totally caught him off guard. Suddenly, all powers of speech seemed to have left him and he didn't know what to do. In an act of desperation, to show Micah that he felt the same, so Micah wouldn't be left with silence, thinking that it was unreciprocated love, Shane breached the gap between their faces and kissed Micah.

It was a stronger, deeper, and more desperate kiss than Micah had ever experienced before. He could only hope that it meant that Shane loved him too. That he hadn't ruined everything by saying the L-word too soon.

When the two boys broke apart again, there was a tension between them. In a small voice, more earnest than any Micah had ever heard before, Shane whispered, "I love you so much, Micah Randall. With all my heart."

Micah grinned, laughed in relief, and pulled his boyfriend into an embrace.

* * *

><p>Shane's dance classes had resumed, a full week before school began. He didn't mind, he actually enjoyed them. But when he walked into the studio for his first lesson of the year, something felt different. Something felt off.<p>

Maggie was at her usual place at the barre, stretching gracefully. Shane joined her and began his warm-ups. But he was only half paying attention to his body. The other half of his concentration was consumed with searching every face, every corner of the room, trying to figure out what was off. And that was when Shane realized what it was. As all of his concentration shifted to his surroundings, he felt a sharp pain near his tailbone, and realized that he had lost balance and fallen over backwards. Shane stood up, brushing off the offers of support from the girls surrounding him. Only girls.

There had always been one or two other boys in Shane's dance classes. Mitch was a fantastic dancer who was a couple of years older than Shane, and Eli was just about the same age. But neither of them were here now. That was always Shane's first argument when his father said that boys didn't dance – _but dad, there are two other boys in my classes. And neither of them are gay_.

"Where're Mitch and Eli?" he whispered to Maggie as their teacher led them through exercises.

"Mitch graduated," she whispered back. "And I guess Eli decided to stop dancing now that he's in high school." She saw the small frown crease Shane's face and quickly continued. "But that doesn't mean you should stop. You're way better than he was, and now that you're the only guy you'll be way more featured in our dances. I'm a little jealous, actually."

Shane uneasily slipped back into the place in his mind where he was able to ignore everything but the elongations and contractions of his muscles.

* * *

><p>Micah sighed as he cleared the plates from a table. <em>Only one more hour, then I'm off my shift,<em> he thought wistfully. He collected the meager tip left on the table and went to the back to pick up a fresh pizza for one of his other tables. He heard the bell of the door opening, and Melanie, the hostess, brought the newcomers to a table.

"Hey, Micah," she said, coming to the back. "I've got some kids at table four for you!"

"I'll be right there," he called back before delivering his pizza to table six. On his way there, he checked out table four and froze. Sitting there were three guys and one girl, all of whom he recognized from Stanton. The guys were jocks, on the football team, and had each beaten him up at one time or another. The girl was a cheerleader who teased Erin mercilessly.

_Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap!_

He nervously approached them, hoping that, against all odds, they wouldn't recognize him. "Welcome to Pizza Castle. My name is Micah and I'll be your server this evening," he recited. "Can I start you off with any drinks?"

The first three ordered, and nothing seemed wrong. The fourth boy, however, said, "I'll have a large coke. And if you get any of your fairy dust on it, faggot, you better not show your face again. Got that, freak?"

Micah tried to ignore the threat, tried to pretend as if he hadn't heard it, as if it hadn't hurt.

When he emerged with the tray of drinks, one of the boys was heading toward the bathroom. Slyly, he stuck out his foot, tripping Micah and causing the drinks to spill all over. Red faced, Micah picked up the tray and cups and rushed back while one of the busboys rolled a mop over.

"What happened, Randall?" Joe asked, a slightly angry tone in his kind voice.

"Tripped," Micah muttered. He grabbed some paper towels and tried to dry himself off. Thankfully, there were some extra uniform shirts in the back. He refilled the drinks and brought them out without incident.

"Smooth moves, butterfingers," the boy who tripped Micah taunted.

Ignoring him, Micah took a deep breath and asked, "Can I take your order?"

* * *

><p>That evening, Micah was subdued while Erin, Blaine, Shane, and Becca jumped and danced around him. They were relaxing in Becca's backyard. Earlier in the day, the sprinklers had been on, leaving the grass still damp. As dusk was falling, Becca and Blaine tried to combine their experience in scouts (which wasn't much) to start a fire in the pit in the backyard. Once it finally caught (only minimal cheating was involved), everyone began making s'mores. And anything else that they could put on a stick and roast over a fire.<p>

"Come _on,_ Micah, get up, loosen up, and have some _fun_!" Erin said, grabbing Micah's hand and pulling him up. She was the only person Micah knew who could get completely drunk off of air. _Well, one of two people_, Micah conceded as Shane backflipped past him with a crazy grin on his face.

"I don't really feel like it tonight," he said, pulling his hand from Erin's and sitting down. This caught Blaine's attention.

"What's up?" he asked, taking the chair next to his best friend.

"Nothing."

"Do you really expect any of us to believe that after last year?"

Micah met Blaine's eye. "No, I guess not."

"So spill."

"It was just stuff at work, no big deal."

"Are the people you work with giving you grief?" Blaine asked seriously.

"Wha– no! No, of course not. _They're_ great." Blaine caught Micah's slight emphasis on the word _they_.

"So customers, then? Oh no, did someone from school come in?"

Micah closed his eyes and nodded.

"Damn it," Blaine swore. "Why can't they leave us alone?"

"It really wasn't that bad. It just put me off. They just … tripped me while I was bringing stuff to their table. Please don't make a big deal about this."

Blaine seemed too tired to argue with Micah, and instead extended the stick that he had just been cooking with toward his friend. "Here," he said simply.

Micah took it and asked, "What is it?"

"Roasted banana," Blaine said with a bit of an evil grin crossing his face.

"That sounds disgusting."

"I know. That's why I'm giving it to you."

* * *

><p>A few days later, Micah happily began his shift at Pizza Castle. In just a few hours, he would be seeing Shane (<em>and Blaine<em>, he added guiltily, remembering his best friend). His shift began without a hitch. But after a short while, Micah heard a loud crowd of people at the door. Micah turned around to confirm his suspicions. The same three boys from the other day, plus plenty of their meathead friends were crowding the hostess' desk.

The boys, however, were oddly well-mannered for the entire lunch. No derogatory comments slipped out after orders, no feet stuck out to trip Micah.

_The calm before the storm_, he found himself thinking worriedly.

But nothing out of the ordinary – except for a painfully small tip – happened at all. Or so Micah thought.

But, as he was cleaning the table, he noticed the two boys who had come both times talking to Melanie at the hostess stand. He couldn't hear the words exchanged, but saw Melanie nod her head and walk away. At that moment, one of the boys caught Micah's eye and shot him the most poisonous look of disgust.

Moments later, Melanie came back out with Joe, who engaged in a serious conversation with the two boys.

Micah had to tear himself from the scene unraveling in front of him – he had other tables to tend to – but there was a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that this all wasn't going to end well, at least not for him.

Micah was wiping off an empty table when Joe approached him. "Micah? Would you step into my office for just a minute?"

A deep sensation of worry flashed through Micah. "Uh … sure," he responded than followed Joe to the back. From the hostess station, Melanie watched, a feeling of helplessness spreading. Over the weeks, she and Micah had become quite good friends. But she had just heard everything, and knew that no matter how little Joe cared about the personal details, he would have to do something. And Micah was the unfortunate victim.

The office door closed with a loud click. "Sit," Joe said, not unkindly, as he offered a chair to Micah.

Micah sat, but still said nothing.

"Now, Micah, those boys who just left, they made some claims which, unfortunately, I can't ignore."

"Look, Joe –" Micah finally began, but Joe simply held up his hand.

"Now, I don't believe these boys, but you know that with this economy, we can't afford to lose any customers. Now, Micah, I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to answer truthfully, okay? Do you … uh, are you – gay?"

Micah felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. Timidly, numbly, he nodded his head. "Yeah – uh, yes," he said quietly, clearing his throat and averting his eyes.

"Okay. That's fine, Micah, I really don't care at all," Joe reassured the boy, "but, unfortunately, those boys do. They came to me and said that you were making them feel uncomfortable. They said that you were looking at them funny and you even touched one of them."

"What?" Micah exploded. "Joe, come on, you know me, you know I wouldn't do that! They're lying – I go to school with them and they like to make my life a living hell! Besides, I've got a boyfriend, why would I be checking one of them out?"

Joe waited for Micah to cool down before speaking. "I believe you, Micah. Believe me, I do. And I have no issue with your being gay and working here, but these boys – they threatened us, they have powerful parents. And you know we can't afford that."

Micah sighed. "I know, Joe, and I'm sorry for all the trouble this caused. I really did like working here. I just wish it could have worked out."

That really got Joe. Micah wasn't angry, he was apologizing for what these boys had done – and for what they had forced _him _to do to Micah.

"Micah –"

"No, really, I'm fine. I just need to get out of here. Bye, Joe. And sorry."

Micah rushed out of the restaurant, ignoring everything and everyone. He had no idea where he was going, but his feet did. He found them carrying them along the path that led him to the bus to Shane's.

Micah sat on the bus in a shocked silence. The bus pulled to a stop with the squeaking breaks at the end of the Anderson's street and Micah numbly departed. He walked up to the house, knocked on the door, and waited. Moments later, Shane appeared.

"Micah!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you –"

But Shane never got to finish his question. Micah grabbed him tightly, pressing hi lips hard against the younger boy's. Shane resisted for a moment, still wondering what was going on, but gave up quickly.

After a long time, the two boys broke apart. "Let's go upstairs," Micah said, leading Shane up.

The two boys went upstairs. Blaine heard the footsteps and stuck his head out the door. "Shane, what was – oh … hey, Micah!"

Micah barely noticed the other boy, but kept walking toward Shane's room. Confused, Blaine reached out and grabbed his brother's arm.

"Shane – what's going on?"

"I have no idea. He just showed up, he hasn't really said anything. His shift isn't supposed to end for another couple hours!"

"Do you need help or anything?"

"No, I think I – we – should do this alone."

"Okay, just – just let me know what happens."

Shane walked into his room where Micah was sitting on the floor, dejectedly leaning against the bed, eyes closed.

"Where's Blaine?" he asked blandly when Shane closed the door.

"I told him to stay in his room for now. Do you want me to get him?"

"No, he'll get too pissed off. I should wait to tell him until I've cooled down."

"So, are you going to tell _me _what happened?" Shane asked timidly, sitting down next to his boyfriend and taking his hands.

Micah opened his eyes, taking in the entire scene in front of him. "I'm sorry for barging in like this," he said looking at the mess of the room. "You were busy cleaning."

"It's fine. Really. It's not like I was actually going to clean up in here. Now, what's up? Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Yeah, I mean, no. No. I was just there."

"I guessed as much. I assumed you weren't wearing that as a fashion statement," Shane said, trying to alleviate the tension.

Micah grinned weakly and squeezed Shane's hand. "So what happened?" Shane asked gently.

"Some guys from school came in today. Football players, naturally. And it all seemed fine, but they wanted to talk to Joe before they left. And they said that I'd made them uncomfortable and touched them. And they were going to file charges or something. So … Joe, he was nice and all, but he still had to let me go."

When Micah finished speaking, a silence fell over the room. Shane finally broke it. "What. The. Hell? They can't get away with that! That's discrimination!"

"Shane. Shane! SHANE!" Micah shouted, putting a hand on his boyfriend's arm. "Chill. I can't really do anything about this. There were enough of them to be 'witnesses'. And Joe didn't want to fire me, they just backed him into a corner."

"Is there anything I can do?" Shane asked desperately.

"Just this," Micah answered. The two boys leaned into each other, kissing deeply. When they broke apart, Micah said, "Well, it was worth it."

"What?" Shane asked.

"Getting fired. At least it was for something that I refuse to let change."

A timid knock sounded on the door, and Blaine stuck his head in. "You two alright in here?" he asked. The two boys nodded. "Good, because mom and dad are going to be home pretty soon."

"Well then," Micah said, getting up and pulling Shane up with him, "let's move this downstairs then, shall we?"

Blaine shot Shane a significant look, but the younger boy simply shook his curly head and whispered, "Later," as the group trooped downstairs.

Bart and Marlene Anderson came home to find their two sons and Micah sitting on the couch and watching _Something Damaged _on the television.

"Mom, is it alright if Micah stays for dinner?" Blaine asked.

"Sure, hon," Marlene said distractedly.

When Micah returned home, he told his parents that he had quit his job at Pizza Castle. He told them that he wanted to enjoy his last week of summer vacation and wouldn't be able to deal with the stress of school work and a job.

Shane told Blaine the simplest version of the story after Micah had left. They two boys were sitting in Blaine's room. Blaine was playing a distracted tune on his guitar, and Shane was stretching on the floor. After Shane finished his story, Blaine swore under his breath. "Those bastards."

"What?" Shane asked.

"Did he ever tell you about the … incident a few days ago?"

"No," Shane said, a little hurt that his boyfriend would rather confide in his brother instead of him. "What happened?"

"There were some guys there on … Monday, maybe? The night of the bonfire at Becca's. The same ones as today, I bet. And they tripped him while he was carrying some drinks and he spilled the drinks all over the place. He got kinda shook up over it, but he didn't seem to want to tell you about it."

"Why not?"

"He probably didn't want to worry you. He didn't want to expose you to what we have to go through at school."

* * *

><p>As the summer's last hurrah, Blaine, Shane, Micah, Erin, and Becca arranged to meet at the movie theatre. The three boys arrived early and were waiting outside for Erin and Becca to join them when a large group of boys and girls from Stanton walked past them – including Jeremy, Blaine's ex-best friend.<p>

"Hey fag!" one of them called. "Why aren't you at work?"

Micah just looked away, whispering, "Ignore them," under his breath.

"I'm glad they realized what a freak you are and fired your ass!"

"Those freaks need to be kept in their place," Jeremy added.

"Why are you hanging with these sickos, dancer boy? Did you catch their gay?"

Shane blushed deeply, but Blaine was unable to contain his anger any longer.

"Why the hell are you doing this to him?" he shouted, getting up and walking toward the group. "What's he ever done to you?"

"Don't talk to me like that, homo, I can crush you!"

"Blaine –"

"No, Shane, they can't insult my friend for being who he is and my brother for being open-minded and getting away with it."

"Protecting your boyfriend?" Jeremy spat. The first boy stepped forward and shoved Blaine as he muttered, "Freak!"

Blaine stumbled backwards, regained balance, and shoved the boy back.

"Don't you dar touch me, you dirty little fucker." The boy advanced on Blaine and struck him hard across the face. Shane made to run forward and join his brother, but Micah held his boyfriend back.

"Micah!" Shane said, struggling against the older boy's deceptively strong arms.

"Don't! If we get involved too, they'll all join in. At least this is one-on-one, and it'll probably end soon."

Blaine's cheek was throbbing and he tasted blood in his mouth, but he turned back to the bully. He shot out a fist, but the boy caught it and punched Blaine in the stomach.

Blaine keeled over for a moment, but rose again. The boy had turned his back, thinking Blaine was finished, so Blaine had the advantage now. He grabbed the boy's shoulder, turned him around, and punched him in the face.

"Fuck you!" he screamed, and retaliated with such force that Blaine fell to the ground. Before he could get up, the boy aimed a sharp kick at Blaine's ribcage, effectively ending the fight. Blaine curled into himself on the ground and groaned.

"You want a go, fag?" the boy shouted at Micah. He was met with silence. "Yeah, I didn't think a lady like you would be able to." And he led his group away.

Micah and Shane ran over to Blaine and helped him walk over to a bench.

"Are you okay?" Micah asked.

Blaine nodded, wincing slightly and refusing to look at Shane. Shane just stood shell shocked and white faced. He had heard Blaine's censored versions of confrontations with bullies at school, but had never seen how merciless these boys could be. And Jeremy. He and Blaine had been inseparable for years, but now he could just stand by and watch this happen? It was disgusting.

"Oh God, you're bleeding," Micah said. "Let's, uh, let's get you to a bathroom to clean up. Shane, can you try to find some ice for him?"

"No, I'm fine," Blaine said, catching his breath. "Really, it's not bad at all. I think I just scraped my elbow or something when I fell."

Micah sat down next to him. "You know, you didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did. They can't get away with getting you fired. Plus they really pissed me off."

Shane st down shakily. "Is that what happens? At school, I mean. Everyday?"

Blaine and Micah exchanged nervous glances. "Sometimes," Blaine admitted.

Erin and Becca came around the corner then. They hadn't yet spotted the three boys. "Crap," Blaine said.

Becca plopped down next to the boys, but Erin stood over them. "Are we going in?" she asked.

"Yep, let's go," Blaine answered with a little too much false enthusiasm in his voice. Erin gave him a strange look and watched him suspiciously as he stood up. Blaine gingerly rose with only the slightest wince. Erin chose to ignore it for now, but kept watching closely.

* * *

><p>By the end of the movie, Blaine's face felt sore and swollen, and his side ached.<p>

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" Erin asked as they exited the theatre.

"What are you talking about?" Blaine asked in feigned innocence.

"Let me guess," Becca interjected, "you fell on a doorknob?"

Blaine shot her a glare, and she shrugged as if to say, "Hey, I'm not going to cross my girlfriend. And if you value your life, you won't either."

Shane and Micah let the two girls accost Blaine, decidedly staying out of their way.

"There was a little issue with some guys from school," Blaine began. "They got Micah fired, and I confronted them."

"They got Micah FIRED?" Erin asked incredulously, turning back to face Micah.

He shot Blaine a look saying, "Thanks for throwing me under the bus."

"It was no big deal," Micah said, not looking Erin in the eyes. "They just made some homophobic comments and then threatened Joe, so he had no choice."

"So you thought it would be a good idea to confront them?" Erin asked, turning back on Blaine.

"I'm just tired of them walking all over us. And I'm definitely not going to let it happen to Shane once school starts."

Shane flushed as the focus shifted to him. "Hey," he said, "I can take care of myself. Plus, I'm not actually out, so what's the big deal?"

"If you keep hanging out with us, you will have problems," Blaine said softly.

"Can we please change the subject?" Shane pleaded. "This is supposed to be a celebration of our last day of freedom, not a depressing talk about the horrors of high school bullies."

"Fine," said Erin. But she gave Blaine a glare that clearly said, "This is far from over."

* * *

><p>That night, Blaine sat nervously on the side of his bed. His clothes for the next day were draped over the back of his desk chair and his guitar rested next to him. He could feel the bruises forming on his cheek and rib cage, but refused to look at them. This school year would be off to a worse start than the last one in many ways. Sure, he had friends this year, and he wasn't quite at the bottom of the barrel. But he was showing up pre-bruised. Great.<p>

There was something that had been nagging at Blaine for a few days now, and he had put it off long enough. With a sigh, he got up and walked down the hall to Shane's room.

"Hey, can I talk?"

"Sure bro, what's up?"

Blaine walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. "School starts tomorrow."

"Yeah," Shane said. "I'm so excited to be out of middle school!"

Blaine took a deep breath and spat out what he needed to say. "You can't hang out with us."

There was a huge and deafening silence for a moment. "Wait, what?"

"If you hang out with us, even if you aren't out, you're going to get so much abuse. I don't want to watch my little brother get beat up every day."

"What about me? I don't want to stand by and watch my shorter yet older brother get beat up every day! And yet, you forced me to stand by and watch, helpless today!"

"Yeah, well you'll be in my position if you keep hanging out with us at school, even if you aren't out. We're social suicide."

"Blaine, I want to hang out with my friends. I want to hang out with my brother and my boyfriend and my brother's beard."

"You have other friends, don't you?"

"Sure, but they don't really know me. Plus, I want to hang out with you."

"Shane, I don't want you to have to go through what I had to go through!"

"It won't be the same – I'll have you guys."

The argument was going in circles. Blaine knew that Shane wasn't going to back down. He also knew that no one could change him mind, except perhaps Micah, and pulling the Micah card would just be unfair. All Blaine could do was sigh and vow to take any and all abuse that was aimed at Shane.

"Fine," he finally said after a long silence. "Do what you want tomorrow."


	25. Chapter 25

**a/n: If I actually gave my chapters titles (which I don't because I'm not creative enough), I would name this one after a beautiful song by one of my all-time favorite bands: the Beatles. But I'm not going to say which song. You'll figure that out soon enough :)**

* * *

><p>The first day of school. High school. Finally.<p>

Shane was both exhilarated and terrified. He had absolutely no idea what he would do upon walking through those doors. Despite his insistence that he wanted to hang out with Blaine, Micah, and Erin when he had talked with Blaine about it, he was a little scared. He had some friends in his grade, but he'd never been too close to anyone since all his time after school was spent at dance rehearsals. He wanted to hang out with his real friends. And his boyfriend. But he didn't want to be forced out.

Shane's mind still wasn't made up about this as he followed Blaine from their house on their bikes. He was barely aware of what he was doing until he was swept up into the crowds of students at the doors to the school.

"Moment of truth, Shane," Blaine said, echoing Shane's thoughts. "I'm going to meet Erin and Micah in the library. We love hanging out with you, but we really don't want you to go through what we have to go through. Whatever you decide, we'll support it."

As if to emphasize Blaine's point that it was dangerous to be near him, a passing jock roughly shoved him into the lockers. "Outta my way, lady," he grunted.

Blaine closed his eyes and sighed in a long-suffering way, but ignored the attack. "So?"

"Lead the way," Shane said.

Not that Blaine had expected anything different.

Micah's eyes lit up when he saw the second, taller curly head bobbing along behind Blaine. "Look what the cat dragged in," Blaine said jokingly.

Shane shyly took a seat next to Micah. The boys' hands found each other easily beneath the table. Immediately after, everyone pulled their schedules out and began comparing. Blaine and Micah had first period government and seventh period P.E. together. Shane thankfully had Ms. Corey for his third period English class. When the bell rang, Erin made her way to her AP English class, while Blaine and Micah guided Shane to his history class which they insisted was on the way to their class.

Shane recognized most of the faces in his class, even if he didn't know them. He took a seat next to James Ammerman, one of the boys who he'd occasionally hung out with in middle school. Moments before the bell rang, a boy that Shane was _sure_ he remembered rushed into the room and took the last empty seat right in front of Shane. He spent most of the class period trying to remember who this boy was (_if only I had paid attention during attendance..._). He was dressed nicely – black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black vest. Suddenly, the name came to Shane: Whittaker. _Something _Whittaker.

* * *

><p>By sheer luck, Blaine and Micah managed to make it through the morning unscathed. The same luck didn't hold for the lunch line, but neither expected it to. Blaine was walking out ahead of Micah and forgot to check all around him – maybe because it had been so long – and was completely surprised when he found himself flying through the air and landing on his stomach painfully. He looked up to see a group of the jocks from the night before. Jeremy, however, was noticeably absent.<p>

"Don't fuck with us or we'll make your life a living hell," one said before they all walked away.

As Micah rushed over and helped Blaine stand up and clean off, Blaine couldn't help but think, _My life already is a living hell. What else can you do?_

Shane went through the line with some of his friends and they invited him to join them. He was torn, and for a moment he almost considered joining them. But instead, he said, "No thanks, guys. I think I'm going to go find my brother and hang out with them."

He saw them exchange looks, and figured that he probably wouldn't be getting that invitation many more times, if at all. As Shane walked out of the cafeteria, he noticed the same boy from his first period class sitting all alone at a table in the far corner of the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>Micah was babbling excitedly about how the first Tiger Tribune meeting was after school.<p>

"Yes, Micah, we know. We all heard the announcement about it this morning," Blaine said tiredly, rolling his eyes toward Erin.

"Hey guys!" Shane said, a welcome interruption to the current conversation.

"Thank God you're here," Micah said. "Aside from the obvious reason that I quite enjoy your company, now that I have you these two might stop ganging up against me."

Erin and Blaine adopted looks of mock indignation. "We would never gang up against you!" Erin said.

"And if we did," Blaine continued, "it would be for your own good!"

"Like finally getting your nose out of one of those books so you can experience the joy of this wonderful school!"

"See what I mean?" Micah said to Shane. The younger boy just laughed and sat down, ready to tear into his food.

As Micah and Shane shamelessly flirted over plates of poorly cooked food, Erin rounded on Blaine. "So, what really happened yesterday? No offense, but you look like shit."

"Thanks," Blaine said bitterly. The truth was, when he woke up, he was in even more pain than he'd felt the night before – probably because he'd accidentally rolled onto his side during the night. He'd inspected the damage that morning: there was a nasty bruise covering the rights side of his rib cage and extending downward, despite the fact that he could only recall being kicked in the ribs. In addition, his cheek and eye had swollen and were slightly discolored, although it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Unfortunately, it didn't stop him from feeling a shot of pain each time he took a bite of his barely palatable lunch.

"It was just a couple of punches. And I got kicked when I fell down," Blaine admitted, knowing that Erin would wrestle the truth from him eventually. "I got a punch in, though. Right in the face."

"So that's why Johnny Miller is walking around with a black eye. I knew it wasn't a football injury – he just didn't want to admit that you got him."

That made Blaine feel slightly better.

And the bruises were acting as a bit of protection for him. Maybe everyone thought someone had already beat him up today, but he received no worse than a shove in the hall and a few slurs shouted at him all day.

* * *

><p>Micah bid farewell to Shane near the bike racks; no kissing, of course, but there was hand squeezing involved. He practically sprinted from there to the journalism room on the second floor. Upon entering, he looked around, trying to figure out where to go. "Are you another freshman?" a senior boy asked approaching Micah. He was tall and well-built, but not one of the jocks.<p>

"No, my name's Micah Randall. I'm supposed to be one of the, uh, writers. I think," Micah said nervously.

"Oh, sorry, bro. We've just had a ton of frosh who don't really know how this works." The boy waved his hand over a crowd of four or five freshmen standing in the corner. "I'm Matthew, by the way," he continued, "editor-in-chief. You can sit over there with the other writers. We'll be assigning jobs soon."

Micah took a seat on the edge of the crowd. A few heads turned, as if they knew who he was, but no one expressed any objections to his presence. Micah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Alright," Matthew said, standing in the front of the room, "congrats to the 2009-2010 Tiger Tribune staff writers and editors." These comments were directed at Micah's half of the room. Matthew appeared to completely ignore the terrified freshmen. He continued speaking, probably something prepared about the journalistic values that the writers were expected to uphold. Then Matthew pulled out a list of potential stories for the first issue. "Usually, I'll let you guys pitch these, but since this is the first issue, the senior editors and I got together to pick this stuff out. I'll read out a topic, and if you want it, just give a shout."

The process was much smoother than Micah expected. When multiple people wanted the same topic, it was settled by a game of rock, paper, scissors. Micah had volunteered to do the interviews with new teachers.

"Okay," Matthew began. He had just handed out the last assignment. "One last thing: we need a photographer since Grant graduated last year. And I don't mean some teenage girl with a digital camera." This jibe earned a few appreciative laughs from his gathered staff. "Anyone know anything about photography?"

No one volunteered. Matthew looked around the room desperately. "Oh, come on, _anyone_?"

Finally, one of the terrified freshmen raised his hand and stepped forward. He was slim and slightly shorter than Micah. His brown hair was cut neatly and his bangs were swept stylishly to the side. He was wearing a pair of slim black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black vest. In a quiet, shaking voice the boy said, "I, uh, I do a lot of photography." A short pause, then he seemed to remember something else. "Here's my portfolio." He held out a binder with a shaking hand.

Matthew took the binder and flipped through the pages briefly. When he closed it, he looked down at the boy. "What's your name, frosh?"

"Jude," the boy said. "Jude Whittaker."

"Well, Jude Whittaker," Matthew said smiling, "you're hired."

When the meeting finally wrapped up, Micah walked up to Jude. "Hey Jude," he said as he extended a hand. "I'm Micah. I'm a sophomore, but this is my first time at the paper too."

"Oh," Jude said with a sigh of relief. "Nice to meet you." There was a short pause before he continued. "Do I know you from somewhere? Like, do we have a class together?"

"I don't think so, but—" Micah began.

"Oh, wait! Are you friends with the curly haired boy that the football players tripped in the cafeteria? I think I saw you helping him up," Jude interjected.

"Oh. Yeah."

"Why'd they do that? I mean, he wasn't doing anything as far as I could tell."

Micah winced. He knew this would come out eventually, no pun intended. Better tell the kid before they became friends and then … Blaine's experiences with "friends" flashed before Micah's eyes. "Well they – most of the school, actually – don't really approve of me or my friends." A pause. "Because … well, because we're gay."

Jude froze, terrified at the words that had just spilled from the other boy's mouth.

_Crap_, Micah thought, _now I've done it. I've really freaked this kid out._

"Sorry for being so – forward," Micah said, pushing his glasses up the brim of his nose. "Most people here just avoid us. Or they're really brutal. Just a heads up. I swear, I won't hold it against you if you want to avoid me too. I know how important it is to have people to eat lunch with." With that, Micah turned and left the journalism room.

Jude was still frozen in place when Matthew came up to him. "Hey frosh," Matthew greeted, slapping Jude on the back. "We're going to need you to cover the football game this weekend, okay? Make sure to get some sweet shots of number 16 – Kevin Donovan – he's our MVP."

"Oh, okay," Jude mumbled.

Matthew paused and looked down at the boy. "Word of advice, alright? I saw you talking to Micah Randall a minute ago. He seems like a normal kid, I've seen samples of his writing – he's good, and I have no issues with him. But if you want to fall in with the right crowd, you should probably steer away from him and his friends."

Jude nodded numbly. "Thanks," he murmured. Inside, Jude was thinking, _But what if I'm inclined that way?_

Jude had spent his time at the middle school hanging out with the artsy people. Still, he didn't have any really close friends, and his middle school group was already splintering apart.

Over the summer, which Jude had spent with his family at their beach house, Jude had started to question his sexuality. He found that he'd spent more time gazing at the tanned and chiseled men with six packs than he did looking at the girls in skimpy bikinis.

_Maybe I'm gay – or bi..._ Jude found himself considering the possibility a few weeks before the school year began.

He'd come to Stanton confident that he could let his newfound identity shine. But now … hearing about how Micah and his friends were treated just because they were gay?

* * *

><p>The next day at school, Jude kept his eyes open for any sign of Micah and his friends. It wasn't difficult at all to find them. A group of four – Micah, the curly haired boy from yesterday, a beautiful red-haired girl, and another boy who Jude recognized from middle school – were walking down the hallway amid calls of "fag!" and "dyke!" One kid tripped Micah, and the taller curly haired boy (<em>Shane Anderson, <em>Jude remembered) stepped up in confrontation. "Hey man, lay off!"

"What the fuck are you doing with these freaks, Shane?" the boy leered.

"Does it matter? They're my friends."

"Well you better be careful or their fairy dust will rub off all over you."

Shane glared at the other boy. "Go to hell," he muttered before Micah grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away.

Jude gulped and walked toward his class, thinking about the scene he had just witnessed.

* * *

><p>Jude and Shane had P.E. the same period. As Jude walked to the locker room a few feet behind Shane Anderson, he noticed a bag laying on the ground as if someone had just carelessly discarded it there. Shane, however, sighed deeply, grabbed the bag, and went into the unused gym.<p>

From within the equipment closet, Micah could hear the muffled footsteps of someone crossing the gym. They sounded heavier than Erin's. After some work, the doors were opened to reveal Shane. Micah's heart leapt slightly.

"Hey," Shane smiled and bit his lip. "You okay?"

"Nothing unusual," Micah said, standing up and brushing off his clothes.

Shane looked around and grinned wickedly. "You know," he said, "we're alone right now."

"Oh really. Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" Micah asked flirtatiously.

Shane nodded and pushed Micah against the closet door, embracing him and pressing his lips against the older boy's. After about a minute, the boys broke apart.

"I wouldn't mind this nearly as much if that was how it always ended," Micah said as he indicated the closet behind them.

"Well, I'm glad to make it better," Shane said, laughing. The two boys leaned in again for another kiss, but broke apart sooner than last time.

"To class?" Micah said, sighing resignedly.

"To class," Shane agreed.

Jude saw Micah and Shane exit the small gym as he was getting a drink from the water fountain. Micah held the bag that had been on the ground earlier. Both boys looked rather flushed as they bid each other good bye.

Before he had gotten a drink of water, though, Jude had checked in on what Shane Anderson was doing in the gym.

* * *

><p>Jude continued watching the four over the next few days. Shane only got a small, verbal fraction of the abuse. Although he hung out with the gay kids, everyone thought he was straight. Micah, the other curly haired boy, and the girl were teased and bullied mercilessly.<p>

And yet, at lunch on Friday, Jude found himself holding his lunching tray and playing host to an incredibly violent inner battle. For the past week, he'd been either sitting alone or on the periphery of a table with kids he knew from middle school. But today, he hesitated as he made to turn toward his lonely corner table. He watched as some of the jocks threw their ketchup coated fries at the curly haired boy. One or two landed right in the boy's hair, but he just hunched his shoulders and kept walking.

Something deep within Jude seized him at that moment. He tightened his grip on his tray of food and followed the other boy out of the cafeteria. Jude hesitated at the outside door, noting that the boy had joined Shane, Micah, and the girl. The girl jumped to action immediately and picked the fries out of his hair.

Jude gulped and began walking towards them. When he reached the bottom of the steps, the curly haired boy looked up and the two locked eyes for a minute. Micah noticed where Blaine's gaze fell and started when he saw the freshman from the newspaper.

The boy shrugged and looked scared. "Mind if I join you?" he asked timidly.

A look of surprise crossed all four faces in front of him. The girl was the first to recover saying, "Of course."

He sat down somewhat awkwardly and began eating in silence. Slowly, the rest of the group's conversation picked back up.

"So Jude," Shane said a few minutes later, shocking the boy from his reverie. "Can you believe that we've already got a history test next week? I mean, we've only been in school for a week!"

Jude nodded and swallowed his food. "At least it's stuff that we covered last year," he said. He was glad that Shane had remembered that they had history together.

The other boy cleared his throat, and Shane seemed to suddenly remember something. "Right! Introductions!" he said with a laugh. He pointed to the curly haired boy. "This is my older brother, Blaine. Don't be fooled by his lack of height. He actually is older than me." Blaine glared at Shane. "This is Erin, she's a junior," he said, pointing to the girl. "And this is Micah. He's a sophomore like Blaine."

"We've met, actually," Jude said.

"Yeah, we're on the paper together," Micah supplied.

"Do you write?" Blaine asked casually.

Jude shook his head. "No, I take pictures."

"That's really cool! You have to be pretty good to get that position as a freshman."

"I'm okay. I was the only one, actually."

"Yeah, but Matthew showed us his portfolio and he's fantastic!" Micah gushed.

Jude smiled. He barely knew any of these people, and yet they were so much nicer to him than any of his "friends" that he had been hanging out with.

"What do you have this afternoon?" Shane asked.

"English, photography, and biology."

"Who do you have for English?" Blaine asked with a much more serious tone.

"Um … Strickland."

Everyone winced. "What?" Jude asked, worry building in his chest. All eyes flew to Blaine for explanation.

"I had him last year. He hated me. I'm sure he wasn't a bad teacher or anything, but... It sucked because he was kinda a homophobe." Blaine left it there; he didn't want to make any assumptions about Jude or alienate him in any way.

Jude's face fell, and he waited for any of them to ask the big question. But none of them did. And for that, he was grateful. Because he still didn't quite know the answer himself.

* * *

><p>That evening, Jude went home and put a new roll of film in his camera and tucked an extra into his camera bag. He wasn't excited to have to spend an evening surrounded by all the jocks that he had heard horror stories about, but he was excited for his first newspaper assignment.<p>

His mother drops him off at the stadium and tells him that she'll be back when the game is over. He's still early; Matthew had wanted shots of everything, including the team's procession from the gym locker rooms to the field. The gym doors opened and Jude jumped back in shock – was it already starting this early?

Instead a group of about 12 kids – 11 girls and one boy – came out of the gym. They were laughing and joking. They were all dressed the same, too. The girls wore identical skirts and the boy had a pair of black dance pants. They paired them with "Stanton Football" t-shirts. The boy turned around and Jude immediately recognized him. "Shane?" he called.

"Jude!" the other boy shouted, bouncing over to him while the rest of his group walked ahead to the stadium. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm taking pictures for the paper. What are _you _doing here?"

"I'm on the dance team! This is our first performance!"

"Is Micah or anyone else here then?"

"No, I told them not to risk it. Plus, Micah doesn't really like football."

"Oh. Okay."

"Listen, I've gotta go! But we should hang out after the game!" Shane runs off before Jude can say anything.

Shane finds Jude after the game – a close victory by the home team – and invites him to go to a local diner with the dance team and some of their other friends. Jude politely turns Shane down, claiming that he has to get to work on his pictures. Shane looks a little sad – he actually wanted to hang out with Jude. Jude promises him that it'll happen another time.

* * *

><p>In school on Tuesday, Shane and Jude are partners in P.E. for the badminton unit. Shane is actually pretty good. With all his energy, he runs around the court and returns almost every volley. Jude, on the other hand, spends most of the time hiding behind his racket, hoping not to get hit.<p>

As they walk back to the locker room, Shane casually asks, "So, are you going to be eating with us again?"

Jude gets a little scared. "Um, can I?" he stutters.

"Of course! We're all really glad to have another person to hang out with at school!"

"Good."

Shane gets serious with his next question. "You do know why we eat on the stairs, right? Why Blaine and Micah get beat up all the time?"

Jude swallows and nods.

"So, you know what hanging out with us will look like to all the jocks and bullies and everyone, right?"

Jude nods again.

"I just wanted to make sure because, like I said, we all like hanging out with you, but you're kinda ostracizing yourself. Like I don't get as much shit because they all think that this girl from one of my dance classes is my girlfriend, but they might think that you..." Shane trailed off.

Jude doesn't say anything, he just ties his shoelaces without looking up at Shane.

"Can I ask you a really personal question?" Shane finally says.

Jude's heartbeat increases, but he calmly nods his head. "I guess."

"Are you – I mean, um – are you gay?"

Jude is silent for a minute too long. "Sorry, I'm not trying to assume something, it's just that you chose to hang out with us and you knew everything, so I thought that maybe-" Shane rambles.

"Yeah," Jude finally says, cutting Shane off.

Now is Shane's turn to be silent. He smiles at the other boy, thought, and finally says, "Cool."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/n: I'm an awful person, I know. I can't believe I've let this go on for so long. I really just want to finish! The problem is, I'm finding it hard to write the next few parts (they're semi-fillerish). I've got the rest planned and partially written, but the next few things just won't come. It's super frustrating.**

**Here's what I've decided. I'm going to write brief snippets of the action that happens before things really heat up and I get back to the stuff I have inspiration for. If I try to pump out complete chapters, though, it will take forever.**

**I apologize dear readers. I have not abandoned this and I never will! Just be patient with me.**

* * *

><p>Auditions for the fall musical, <em>Into the Woods<em>, were to take place after school on the Thursday after Labor Day. Blaine had been frantically going back and forth over which song and monologue he should use, and he was being coached in dancing by Shane.

The director had asked for them to show variety in their auditions, so Blaine ultimately decided on a monologue from _The Diary of Anne Frank_ and a song from _The 25__th__ Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee_.

When he leaves the auditorium after the audition, Blaine is confident. He is sure that he just had the greatest audition of his life, and wouldn't be surprised if he got a callback. And yet, Blaine is still a wreck of nerves as he approaches the callback list on Friday morning.

He runs his finger down the list until he sees his name – his name! He's called back for two parts! Cinderella's prince and … Jack. He got a callback for Jack, one of the main characters?

Blaine practically floats into the library, a large, goofy grin across his face.

* * *

><p>He doesn't want to show up to callbacks all sweaty, so Blaine asks his parents for a ride at dinner on Friday night.<p>

Bart Anderson slowly puts down his knife and fork and looks up at his eldest son. "Blaine, I thought that I made it very clear that I didn't want you doing this _musical theatre_ thing anymore. Aren't you worried about what other people will think?"

"No dad, I'm not," Blaine says. He's surprised at the conviction in his words. "I like singing and acting, and even dancing. And I'm pretty good at it, too."

Shane coughs, trying to lighten the mood. Blaine smiles and amends his statement. "Well, I'm pretty good at acting and singing, at least."

"Blaine, your mother and I bought you that nice bike for a reason, so you could get to places without needing us to chauffeur you everywhere. Besides, we have errands to run tomorrow."

"I know, dad," Blaine says to his plate.

He went up to his room after dinner to practice the two songs he was expected to sing at callbacks: _Agony_ for Cinderella's prince, and _Giants in the Sky _for Jack. He would be getting various scened to perform tomorrow and would only have a few minutes to prepare for that, so he wanted to be as solid as possible for the songs.

Shane wished Blaine good luck before going to bed that night. "I've been listening to you for the past few hours through the walls." Blaine blushed and was about to apologize before Shane continued. "You sound fantastic. I know you're going to get a great part."

Blaine thanked his brother before going to bed himself. He wanted to be well-rested for his callback.

Blaine was panting when he entered the auditorium at 9:30 on Saturday morning. He had biked as quickly as possible to get to school, and then sprinted from the bike racks to the auditorium so he wouldn't be late. He quickly gathered himself, and took a seat.

The director was handing out scenes and assigning scene partners and time slots. Blaine two scenes – one as Jack, when the witch and baker plan to turn Jack over to the giant, and the other as Cinderella's prince at the festival – seem a bit daunting. His group isn't performing until 11, so they have plenty of time to rehearse. First, Blaine runs through _Agony _with the boy called back for Rapunzel's prince a few times. When they both deem it ready for performance, he moves on to work on his scenes.

The girl called back for the witch is a senior and one of the best actors and singers Blaine has ever met. Her name is Ashley, and she isn't like most theatre girls. She's genuinely sweet to everyone she meets, and she never assumes her ideas are the best. Even so, most of her ideas about blocking are used for their scene, and Blaine knows that because he gets to work with her, his performance is going to improve, too.

The thing that he is most excited about – and terrified of – is his solo of _Giants in the Sky_. The only people watching will be the director, music director, assistant director, stage manager, and maybe a few members of his group from the wings. But Blaine is still freaked out about performing such an impressive and difficult song in front of anyone.

The moment his name is called, though, all of Blaine's fears evaporate. He runs across the stage, excitedly proclaiming, "There are giants in the sky!" and knows that he nailed it.

When it's time to go, the director congratulates everyone and reminds them that the cast list will go up on Monday. For once, Blaine can't wait to go back to school.

* * *

><p>Blaine doesn't let anyone go with him to look at the cast list. But he's pretty sure that Erin followed him anyway.<p>

There's a small crowd around the list, and Blaine has to fight to get close enough to see it. He sees Ashley's name at the very top. A few lines below, he sees his name. Blaine Anderson – Jack. He got it!

Ashley is standing right next to him, and she sees the grin spread across his face. "Congrats, Blaine. You were really great in the audition. I'm so excited to work with you!" She gives him a small hug then runs off to join her friends.

Blaine turns around to find Erin standing right on his heels. "So?" she asks, though she's pretty sure the he got in, if the smile on his face is any indication.

"I got it! I got Jack!" he tells her.

"Blaine, that's awesome!"

Chorus lets out a few minutes early, so Blaine goes to talk to his teacher, the music director of the show.

"You weren't the best vocally," the man tells Blaine in his matter of fact way. "But your energy was so youthful and infectious that we knew you would make a fantastic Jack. You just will have to really work on your singing. This is a challenging show."

"Of course," Blaine says. "Thanks so much for your confidence in me!"

* * *

><p>At lunch that day, Blaine feels like he's on top of the world. But he is very quickly brought back down to earth when Micah turns the corner, shirt drenched in ketchup. Shane immediately sets about cleaning his boyfriend up and the two leave for the bathroom. Jude is silent and looks a bit shaken up.<p>

Blaine tries to comfort the younger boy. "It could have been a lot worse." Jude widens his eyes and looks at Blaine like he's crazy. "Okay," Blaine says, laughing, "that came out wrong. What I meant was, that wasn't anything permanent."

"Blaine, shut up before you dig yourself any further into this hole you've created," Erin advised. All three cracked smiles and the tension reduced.

"So how's the newspaper going?" Blaine asked Jude.

"Pretty good. Matthew seems to like my pictures, but I'm kinda overwhelmed since I'm the only real photographer."

"That's still pretty impressive that you're keeping up with everything," Erin offered.

"I've never seen any of your stuff, except the football game," Blaine commented. "Do you have any other pictures?"

"A few," Jude admitted. He pulled out his portfolio and showed it to the two of them.

"Wow," Erin said. "Micah wasn't lying. These are really good."

"Thanks."

As the two poured over his portfolio, Jude pulled out his camera. "Do you mind?" he asked shyly, finally working up the courage to take pictures of his new friends – even if two were absent.

"Not at all," Erin said. "Just make sure to get my good side," she joked.

"You don't have a good side," Blaine shot back. Jude captured the moment – the laughter in Blaine's eyes and on his lips and the look of indignation on Erin's face – perfectly. This was how he wanted to remember his friends. In their candid moments of fun.

Shane and Micah walked around the corner while Jude was attempting to give Blaine a lesson in photography. Blaine captured a blurry shot of the two boys walking hand in hand. He looked over the lens and raised his eyebrows at his brother and best friend.

"No one is around," Shane said in answer to Blaine's unasked question.

* * *

><p>Jude had been sitting with Micah, Shane, Blaine, and Erin at lunch for over a week. He'd just started meeting them at their library table before school, and would frequently walk with any one of them in the halls between classes. And yet, nothing had happened. Sure, people had shouted vulgarities at him in the halls and stairwells, and he'd even been shoved roughly to the sides of the halls, but nothing too physical happened. He saw Micah and Blaine slammed into lockers, tripped in halls and stairwells, and shoved into the equipment closet. They all told him he was lucky. Shane reasoned that it was just like with him – they all thought he was straight even though he spent time with all the gay kids.<p>

But that couldn't be it – no one ever called Shane gay or a fag like they did to Jude. They would warn Shane that he might turn into one if he kept his present company, but they never outright called him gay. Somehow, they all seemed to know for sure that Jude was gay, even when it took him some months to determine that on his own. Maybe he should have just accepted his lack of abuse and moved on.

After P.E. on Wednesday, Jude showered and returned to his locker. Shane had decided to skip the shower so that he could meet with a few group members before his presentation next period, so Jude was alone. When he reached his locker, he discovered that someone had broken in and stolen his clothes. In their place was a note that said, "Fuck off faggot. No one wants you here."

Jude took a shuddering gasp as he removed the note from his locker. A boy down the aisle noticed and pointed it out to his friend. Both started laughing as tears welled up in Jude's eyes.

_Don't let them see,_ he told himself. _Remember what Blaine said: Don't give them the satisfaction of knowing they got to you_.

When the laughter died down, the boy told Jude, "If you want your clothes, they're in the trash. Right where homos like you belong."He slammed his locker shut and walked away as the bell rang.

Jude waited for the locker room to clear out before rushing over to the trash can. Sure enough, his clothes were in there, but they were also soaked in something that smelled suspiciously of urine.

Panic began to build in his chest. He couldn't go to class in gym clothes that were sweaty and smelly from the past week's exercise. Nor could he stay in his towel.

An idea occurred to Jude and he ran back to his locker to grab his backpack, thankful that none of his classmates had thought to do anything to it. He produced his phone and typed out a desperate message.

_Some guys pissed on my clothes during pe. Help! - J_

* * *

><p>In a chemistry classroom across the school, Blaine felt the phone in his pocket vibrate. He pulled it out and gasped at what he saw, anger building. Blaine quickly gathered his things and approached his teacher at the front of the room.<p>

"Mrs. Michaels?"

The woman looked up at Blaine. "Yes?"

"I'm not feeling so well. Can I have a pass for the nurse. I think I may have a fever or something."

The woman looked momentarily suspicious, but Blaine must have been a good actor since her face softened and she wrote him a pass.

"Thanks," Blaine said as he grabbed the pass and bolted from the classroom. Before heading to the gym, however, Blaine stopped by his locker to grab his emergency extra clothes. He then walked as quickly as he possibly could without attracting attention in the direction of the gym.

Thankfully there were no freshman classes this period, so their locker rooms was empty. Blaine barged in. "Jude?" he called.

"Over here!" came the harried reply. Blaine walked over to the correct row of lockers and found himself frozen in place.

Jude was standing at the end of the row wearing nothing but a blue towel tied around his waist. His pale skin seemed to glow in the poor lighting. His hair was falling in wet clumps around his face. And … the rest of him. Wow. His abs were tight and the muscles were quite sculpted, despite his age.

"Blaine?" Jude asked nervously when he noticed the older boy's pause.

"Right," Blaine said, tearing his gaze away from Jude's abs. "You picked the right person to text. I always keep extra clothes in my locker. And you're not far off from my size."

Jude smiled gratefully as he took the clothes from Blaine's outstretched hands. "Thanks so much," he said. "I honestly don't know what I would have done otherwise."

"We help each other out," Blaine said simply as he watched Jude pull his _Rent_ t-shirt over his head.

Once Jude was finished changing, Blaine said, "Thanks, by the way, for getting me out of an incredibly boring chemistry lesson."

Jude laughed. "Anytime. Only, hopefully under less unfortunate circumstances if this does happen again in the future."

The conversation lulled for a moment as Jude packed his things. Both boys then began to speak at the same moment.

"I was thinking that—"

"Since we're already—"

They stopped and laughed somewhat nervously. "Go ahead," Blaine said, "you can talk first. I was just kinda … talking for the sake of talking."

"Me too, but I guess I'll go," Jude said. Resuming asking his question, he said, "Since we're already talking about clothes, do you mind if I ask about your shoes?"

Blaine laughed and looked down at his converse sneakers. The were well-worn and Erin's original message had since been joined by other nonsense. "These were a gift from Erin and Becca for my last birthday. They decided to start writing stuff on them, like inside jokes and quotes and stuff."

"That's really cool," Jude said.

"You can add to them whenever you feel like it. Erin once literally grabbed my foot and began writing while I was still wearing the shoe because she was so 'overcome with inspiration.' Her words, not mine, by the way. It was rather uncomfortable. But most people just ask."

Jude grinned. He could imagine the fiery redhead doing just that. "What was she writing that was so important?"

Blaine rolled his eyes. "Absolutely nothing. I mean, obviously she wrote something, but it was nothing actually important. It was this one, I think." Blaine then sat down and lifted up his shoe so that Jude could read Erin's handwriting.

"_Don't you look at me with that tone of voice!"_ Jude read slowly before looking up to Blaine for translation.

"I can't totally remember what was going on, but Becca was explaining her plans with friends from her school, and Erin was totally dumbfounded that Becca would want to do that. Becca got a little huffy and said that."

"I see. You guys have a lot of fun together."

"We'll have to have another weekend of togetherness so that you can officially understand how terrible of a decision you made when you decided to become friends with us. We're completely insane. Except maybe Micah," Blaine said.

Jude's heart swelled. He was a part of the group! "It sounds like fun. And you guys may be insane, but you're also quite … endearing." He statement hung there awkwardly for a moment before he continued. "Anyway, you were also trying to say something earlier."

"Right," Blaine said. "I was actually just going to ask if you wanted to just skip the rest of class and hang out until lunch, since we're already missing so much class. I don't really feel like heading back to chemistry."

Jude turned slightly pink at Blaine's invitation. "Uh sure, that sounds a lot better than going back to class."

"Great," Blaine said, flashing one of his dazzling smiles and proffering his arm. "Shall we?" he asked in an adopted posh British accent.

"We shall," Jude agreed, mimicking Blaine's accent. He linked his arm through Blaine's and the two boys skipped to to locker room door and dropped each other simultaneously.

"It's probably safest to just walk through the halls," Blaine said.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>Erin, Micah, and Shane were all surprised to find Blaine and Jude already at the back steps with full trays when they arrived.<p>

"How'd you get here so fast?" Micah asked.

"There was an incident, and we ended up skipping class together," Blaine explained. Jude was grateful that he didn't elaborate.

"What sort of incident?" Shane asked, cuddling up next to his boyfriend when he saw that no one else was around. "I saw you at the end of P.E. and you were fine. Unless … Blaine, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, we're both fine," Blaine said. He shot Erin a look that conveyed that he was trying to help the younger boy. Understanding completely, Erin engaged Shane in a different conversation.

Lunch continued on peacefully for a few minutes. Shane was still suspicious that Jude was now helping his brother shield his injuries. Blaine and Micah got it so much worse than the rest of them, but neither liked to show it. He looked over the two boys, who seemed so much closer suddenly. And more similar. There was definitely something different about Jude. It occurred to Shane that Jude had changed clothes. He had been wearing a blue oxford that morning, but now he had a t-shirt that looked a lot like one that Blaine had …

"Jude, did you change?" Shane asked, halting all conversations.

"Yeah," Jude said after a pause. "You didn't expect me to stay in my P.E. clothes, did you?"

"No, I mean since first period. You were wearing something else in class. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen you in a t-shirt outside of P.E. That one looks like one of Blaine's, actually."

Jude turned white and looked to Blaine for help. In an attempt to alleviate the tension, Erin started saying the first things that came out of her mouth. "So you two skipped last period together, and now Jude's in Blaine's clothes … Hm, what did you boys get up to?" she asked with a wink.

Unfortunately, this made both boys blush furiously.

"Some of the guys just stole my clothes after P.E. Blaine was just helping me out by giving me something to wear," Jude explained in a small voice.

"They did what now?" Erin asked, furious.

"It's no big deal," Jude said, and everyone gave him dumbfounded looks. "It's like initiation, right? Hazing? One big thing and then I'll just get whatever they throw at Blaine and Micah."

"Yeah," Blaine said. "But no one ever stole my clothes and pissed on them."

"They pissed on your clothes?" Erin asked shrilly.

Jude shot Blaine a look that clearly said, _Thanks._ "Well, they tried to lock you in the closet for an entire weekend."

"Um, what?" Shane was now the confused one, and Jude had succeeded in diverting the attention from his present situation.

"_Nothing_, Shane," Blaine said quickly.

"Are you guys _seriously _fighting over this?" Micah asks. Blaine looks down sheepishly.

"Hey," he says suddenly, "you guys should all come over this weekend. Our parents will probably be gone most of the day." Shane nods in agreement.

Micah and Erin begin planning what to do while Erin simultaneously texts Becca the details. Jude catches Blaine's eye with an unsure expression. Blaine just smiles at him and winks.

* * *

><p>Blaine has vocal rehearsals, Erin has track practice, Shane has dance, and Micah and Jude have a newspaper meeting after school. They decide to regroup at 5 at the Anderson house and improvise from there.<p>

Unfortunately, that plan was shot down for Jude when he arrived at the newspaper meeting.

"Whittaker, you're going to the game tonight, right?" Matthew called from across the room.

"Um, it's an away game," Jude said slowly. "I thought I didn't have to go to away games."

"Yeah, but this is our cross-town rival. So you need to be there. Don't worry, the school is sending a bus to take students over there, you can take that."

"Okay. Sure. Yeah, I'll be there." Jude pulled out his phone and texted Blaine sadly.

* * *

><p>Blaine got Jude's text as he was unchaining his bike from the rack. He was about to respond with a sympathetic "Aww, I'm sorry," when he had an idea. Blaine quickly dialed a number on his phone instead.<p>

"Hello?" a gruff voice answered.

"Dad? It's Blaine."

"Blaine, I thought I told you not to call me at work unless it was an emergency!"

"Sorry, dad, but I told one of my friends I'd go to the football game with him, and it's across town and I need a ride."

"Football?" Bart asked, ears perking up.

"Yeah. It's the big rivalry game, so I wanted to support the team."

"I'm sure I can be home in time to bring you. Is Shane going?"

"I'm not sure. I'll ask him. Thanks, dad!"

Blaine pedaled home as quickly as he could. Shane, Micah, Erin, and Becca all seemed to have arrived only moments before.

"Change of plans," he said when he joined them in the kitchen.

"What?" Erin asked.

"Jude has to photograph the football game. I told him we'd go with him."

Erin grinned evilly at Blaine. "Oh really. Why?"

"Because it sucks that he has to go to the game at another school and be surrounded by homophobes?"

"Are you sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that your face is now the color of a tomato?"

Blaine looked down.

"Oh my god," Erin squealed, giggling madly. "You _like _him."

"What?" Shane and Micah asked at the same time.

Blaine blushed even more and refused to answer.

"Aww, this is adorable. Little Blainey has his first crush," Erin sing-songed.

Becca finally decided to exercise some control over her girlfriend. "Shut up, Erin. Be nice to him. I think it's cute, Blaine. And I'll keep her from saying anything tonight."

"Thanks, Becca," Blaine said gratefully.

* * *

><p>The football game was pretty boring. Blaine did enjoy watching football, but not surrounded by his classmates who were constantly glaring at him. He wouldn't have stayed long, except Jude's face lit up so brightly when they met him at the stadium.<p>

When Bart Anderson picks them all up at the end of the game, he is happier than Blaine has seen him in ages. He invites all the teenagers to sleep over (even though that was already the plan) and seems perfectly accommodating.

If only he felt the same way about Blaine's musicals or Shane's dance.


	27. Chapter 27

**Warnings: VIOLENCE. SHIT IS HITTING THE FAN. The capital letters should speak for themselves.**

**update 3/3/13: I just discovered a few scenes from _Stanton _in one of my notebooks that I forgot about when I was writing all this. I just added them, so the new parts start and end with the *.**

* * *

><p>Blaine may have thought the football game was pretty boring, but the rest of the school disagreed with him. Jocks were even greater forces of terror in the halls as they stormed around, trying to punish everyone else for their poor performance.<p>

The game had been a landslide victory for their rivals: 45 to 3.

Jude seemed to receive the brunt of their fury.

It wasn't his fault exactly. He had managed to capture a perfect picture of JD fumbling what could have been a touchdown catch. Matthew had decided to use that picture for the article on the game. It ran on the front page of the school newspaper and was featured on the website.

Blaine, Erin, Micah, and Shane tried to run interference and help Jude, but there was no way that they could protect him at all times. Jude ended up getting roughed up at least once every day for two weeks.

* * *

><p>*"Guess what?" Jude said to Erin and Blaine at lunch one day, brimming with excitement. Micah and Shane were engrossed in a conversation a few feet away.<p>

"What?" Erin asked, mouth full of food.

"Attractive, Erin. I see what Becca sees in you," Blaine said, earning himself a punch from the older girl.

"Look what I finally got," Jude said, ignoring Erin and Blaine and pulling his camera from its bag.

"Um, I hate to break it to you Jude, but you've had that camera all year," Erin pointed out.

"Not the camera. I've been saving up all summer for a new lens. This one is way better than my old one. I can zoom more and it focuses better. I just picked it up yesterday."

"Wow, that's really cool, Jude," Blaine told him.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"None at all, but you sound excited." Blaine grinned at his friend as Jude just sighed.

"It's basically a really, _really _good lens. It makes the pictures pretty."

Blaine fought the urge to roll his eyes at his friend's condescension. "Cool."

"Well," Erin cut in, "let's see how good it really is." She immediately struck a ridiculous pose.

"He just got it, Erin. Let's not break it right away by subjecting it to _your _face," Blaine shot back.

"Ouch," Erin muttered before tackling the shorter and younger boy.

"Hey!" Blaine laughed.

Jude caught the moment on film just as another two bodies rounded the corner.

"Well, if it isn't the fag five," a jock sneered. Turning to Shane, he said, "You know, Anderson, if you keep hanging out with them they're going to turn you too."

"Fuck off, Gary," Blaine said.

"Aw, lady boy's sticking up for his little brother."

"Leave us alone. We don't do anything to you," Micah said.

"Yeah well let's just keep it that way. And I better not catch any of you fags staring at me. See ya, freaks!"

The rest of the meal was subdued, the light joking mood from earlier completely evaporated. When the bell rang, everyone left Micah and Shane alone to exchange a quick kiss before running off to class.

* * *

><p>On her way to the locker rooms to change for track, Erin checked the storage closet. Inside, she found Jude, protectively clutching his camera.<p>

"Is it alright?" she asked.

"Yeah, thankfully. Still ready for your close-up?"

"Always," Erin laughed, striking another pose. Jude snapped the picture.

"I'm assuming I've already missed the bus?"

"Yep. But Blaine and Shane are still here if you want to catch up to them. Blaine said he didn't have rehearsal today."

"Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Erin!"

Erin watched as Jude scampered off, and then turned toward the locker room. She ignored the jibes of the girls around her and began her solitary warm-up run through the neighborhood.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Shane were unlocking their bikes and talking about Shane's hatred of biology when they heard quick footsteps approaching them. Blaine immediately tensed before turning around and relaxing when he saw his friend's face.<p>

"Hey Blaine, Shane!" Jude called, slightly breathless. "I got a little held up and I missed my bus. I'd rather not wait around school until my mother's done with work. Can I tag along with you guys back to your house?"

"Of course," Blaine answered immediately. "We can walk our bikes."

"Actually," Shane amended, "I have dance class, so I'm biking. I'll see you two later." Shane sent a wicked grin Blaine's way before pushing off.

Jude snapped a quick picture of Shane biking away and the turned the camera on Blaine. "Smile," he instructed.

"Nope," Blaine said. He grabbed Jude's arm and pulled the boy next to him before turning the camera lens to face them both. "Work your magic," he instructed.

"You are undermining my gift by making me take a Myspace picture with _this _camera," Jude complained with a laugh. He took the picture anyway, and carefully packed his camera away.

"Come on, Ansel Adams," Blaine said, pushing his bike forward and leading Jude out of the parking lot.

* * *

><p>After picking up a few snacks from the kitchen, Blaine and Jude went up to Blaine's bedroom to work on homework. Blaine turned on his iPod while Jude called his mother to ask for a ride when she got out of work.<p>

"Nice," Jude said with an appreciative smile as _Something _played over the speakers.

"I figured you – or at least your parents – were fans," Blaine said by way of explanation.

"That's putting it lightly. I'm pretty sure that if I ever have any siblings they'll be Maxwell, Lucy, Michelle, Julia, Rocky, Desmond, Magill, Pam or one of the others I'm forgetting. Or maybe John, Paul, George, or Ringo."

"I pity the kid named Ringo," Blaine said seriously. "I thought _my _parents were bad, giving me and Shane rhyming names. But at least we're not Ringo and Dingo..."

Jude laughed and pulled his Latin book and _Romeo and Juliet _out of his bag.

"Ah, Strickland's Shakespeare unit," Blaine observed.

"Yeah," Jude answered. "That _and _Latin. I'm having trouble deciding which one I want to do less."

"Do Strickland's. If he knows that you're hanging out with me, he'll do anything to make you fail."

"Yeah, but at least I get what's going on in his class," Jude complained. "Latin's a completely different – and dead – language. And in class we spend the first 40 minutes going over last night's homework and then 10 minutes passing out worksheets for the next night. It's ridiculous!"

"Well, I don't envy you that. That's why I'm taking Spanish. More useful in the present."

Blaine and Jude's conversation flowed easily through the afternoon. There were long periods when neither said anything, and the only sounds in the room were the scratching of pencils and John Lennon's voice. Blaine was thoroughly sad to see Jude leave when his mother arrived.

"We should do this again. I like having someone to do my homework with," Blaine called.

"Yeah," Jude agreed.

"This can be our thing once my show's over."*

* * *

><p>It seemed like the jocks had forgotten about him – or maybe they stopped because they won their next game. Whatever the reason, Jude was no longer constantly in a state of panic as he walked down the school halls. Letting down his guard was probably a bad idea in hindsight.<p>

Blaine was walking to class and humming some of the _Into the Woods_ score under his breath when a large, meaty hand grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the wall.

The breath was knocked out of Blaine's body, and he could barely fight back as two large forms dragged him into the gym. The roughly tossed him into the equipment closet, jammed the door, and walked out.

Blaine sat up dazedly. He must have hit his head at some point in the past few minutes. He was just beginning to bang on the doors when he heard a commotion at the corner of the gym.

_Yes, _he thought to himself, _Erin or Shane or Micah or Jude's coming to get me out_.

But the noises escalated and Blaine could hear a younger voice whimpering as the booming voices of the jocks taunted the kid.

_Oh no. Please, please, please, don't let it be Shane, _Blaine thought desperately. Shane had never been forced into the closet, and Blaine hoped that day would never come.

A voice shouted, "Give that back!" and Blaine's stomach dropped when he realized it was Jude.

"I don't think so," one of the jocks replied. "I don't really want you taking any more pervy pictures of me."

Blaine heard a slightly muffled thump as something collided with the door of the closet and broke. _His camera. They broke his camera. He was saving up for that lens for ages, and now they've destroyed it in five seconds_. Blaine wanted to shout out, but he was too scared.

Finally, the jocks seemed to tire of tormenting Jude. They forced open the doors and tossed him in, practically on top of Blaine.

"Oof, wait – who's there?" Jude asked when he collided with the other boy.

"It's me, Blaine."

"Oh. They got you, too?"

"Yup. Was that – I mean, did they get your camera?"

Jude sucked in a shuddering breath. "Yeah."

Blaine wrapped an arm around the younger boy. "It's okay, Jude. They could have done so much worse. We can help you buy a new lens, too."

"No, it's fine. Well, it's not _fine_, but it is what it is."

"Yeah," Blaine agreed dully.

The two boys sat in silence for a while. Blaine had lost all track of time when Jude spoke again.

"I'm glad you're here with me. I mean, I'm not glad that we were both essentially abducted from the halls of school, but -"

"I get it," Blaine said quickly. "I'm glad too. I really like spending time with you, Jude." Blaine was never more thankful that the closet was so dark because he knew he had a violent blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Me too," Jude replied quietly.

Blaine could just barely make out the outline of Jude's face, but his eyes – they shone brightly in the dark. He stared deeply into them for a time. He didn't know how long it was before he tore away, blushing again.

"Jude?" he said, cursing that he voice chose that moment to crack.

"Yeah, Blaine?"

"I – uh – I mean, I know this isn't the _ideal _situation or anything – but, um, I really like you. Like, a lot."

"I like you too, Blaine."

"I mean I like you as … more," Blaine said quietly.

He heard Jude's sharp intake of breath, and tried to turn away in embarrassment. Jude grabbed him arm, though, before he could move.

"Me too," Jude whispered.

Blaine's eyes widened in surprise before he found himself leaning in towards Jude. Their lips touched briefly and gently for just a moment before the gym doors opened again.

Erin was there to save them.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Jude didn't talk about the kiss for a few days. Erin, however, picked up on the tension between the two boys and confronted Blaine about it before lunch.<p>

"So?" she asked with a devious glint in her eye.

"What?" Blaine asked her, thoroughly confused.

"Oh, come on, Blaine. You and Jude looked awfully _cosy_ in the equipment closet when I had to pull you two out the other day."

"It's a small closet, Erin, there isn't really a way for two people to be in there without being cosy."

Erin rolled her eyes. "Blaine, give me _something_! There is so much sexual tension between you two! What happened?"

"Well," Blaine said, flushing furiously, "we may have kissed before you barged in."

"I knew it!" she squealed loudly, earning her curious glances from passing students. "Oh my god, you two _kissed_!"

"Shh, Erin, please keep it quiet!" Blaine hissed, hoping that no one overheard. "I don't exactly want to stoke the fire or anything."

"I can't be happy?" she asked indignantly. "Blaine and Jude sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!"

"Oh my god, I never should have told you," Blaine groaned. "Can we just get lunch?"

"Of course we can. Maybe you and Jude can split the spaghetti a la _Lady and the Tramp_."

Blaine groaned and walked away.

* * *

><p>At lunch a few days later, a few jocks passed by the steps where Blaine, Jude, Micah, Shane, and Erin were eating.<p>

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the four little fags and mini Anderson. Watch out, kid. If you keep associating with trash like these homos, you'll end up just like them."

Blaine told Ashley about the confrontation at rehearsal that afternoon. She giggled and renamed them the "Fab Five."

* * *

><p>Over the next week, Erin kept pushing Blaine and Jude closer together. They were so awkward around each other that even Shane and Micah began to notice.<p>

The asked Blaine about it after school only a few days later. Blaine very bashfully told them exactly what had happened between him and Jude in the closet. They were a lot more supportive than Erin was. At least, they were until they kicked Blaine out of Shane's room so they could have "alone time."

* * *

><p>At school the next Monday, Erin informed everyone that they were invited to a halloween party at Becca's house.<p>

"But you have to come in costume," she emphasized. "And they better be damn good costumes."

Moments later, she was spouting out suggestion after suggestion of costumes that Blaine and Jude could do – together. "Ooh! What about salt and pepper shakers? Or the two guys from _Brokeback Mountain_! Or Burt and Ernie! Or -"

"Erin! We don't need your help!" Blaine finally insisted, earning him a sour look from his friend.

"Fine," she huffed.

When she turned away, Blaine and Jude shared several moments worth of awkward eye contact before each diving into other conversations as well.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Shane prepared for the halloween party together. Blaine had decided to go as Harry Potter, which Shane had simply rolled his eyes at. Blaine wasn't convinced that Shane's choice was any more mature, though, as he walked out of his bedroom wearing a Spider-Man costume.<p>

They met Micah and Jude at Micah's house, before getting a ride from Micah's mother. Jude and Micah seemed to have taken slightly more mature routes with costumes than the Anderson brothers did.

Jude was wearing a plain black suit, white collared shirt, and a thin black tie. He had brushed his hair so it slightly resembled a bowl cut.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Shane asked through a mouthful of butterfinger.

"Paul McCartney," Jude replied. "I figured I might as well attempt to live up to my name."

"Nice," Blaine said. "The look suits you."

Shane and Micah exchanged knowing looks behind their backs.

Micah was wearing a trench coat, scarf, and red plaid hunting cap. Blaine gave his best friend a questioning look.

Micah sighed. "Do you even pay attention in English, Blaine? I'm Holden Caulfield. You know, _Catcher in the Rye_?"

"Oh," Blaine said vaguely. "But we haven't even read that yet!"

"It's a classic!"

"Okay boys, break it up," Shane said, deftly ending the circular conversation. "Shall we get out of here?"

Micah's mother drove them to Becca's house, promising to be back to pick them up at 12:30.

"Oh, my parents actually wanted me home tonight, so I don't need a ride back," Jude said as he hopped out of the minivan.

"Are you sure, hon? I could drop you off at your house."

"It's fine. I'm probably going to leave early anyway."

* * *

><p>The party was mostly filled with other students from Sacred Heart, so Blaine, Erin, Micah, Shane, and Jude spent most of the evening hanging out on a couch in the corner of Becca's basement. Every so often, she would come over and chant with them for a while, but then another one of her friends would pull her away.<p>

Around 11, Jude announced that he was leaving.

"I'll walk you to the door," Blaine offered, desperately trying to ignore the grins his friends flashed at him.

They walked upstairs and Blaine looked out the front window to see if there was a pair of headlights. "Are your parents here?"

"No," Jude said. "I'm just going to walk home. I only live a couple of blocks away."

"Oh, okay. Be safe," Blaine said. He desperately wanted to say something more, but couldn't quite find the words. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he whispered as he leaned in to Jude.

Jude met Blaine's lips with his own. It was a bit more forceful than last time, but just as tender. When they broke apart, both boys had equally dazed grins on their faces.

"Bye," Jude breathed.

"Bye, Jude," Blaine called after him.

* * *

><p>Blaine walked back downstairs with a happy expression on his face.<p>

"So?" Erin demanded as soon as he sat down.

Blaine's face broke into a huge grin.

"Yes!" all three exclaimed at once.

Blaine spent the rest of the evening describing the kiss to erin and chatting with his friends. When Micah's mother picked them up at 12:30, he was sure that he would fall asleep quickly and dream of Jude.

* * *

><p>Jude felt butterflies in his stomach when Blaine offered to walk him to the door. Over the past weeks, he had kept waiting for the right moment – but whenever it came he would always shy away. Not tonight. Tonight, Jude was going to take initiative.<p>

That was part of the reason he'd chosen Paul McCartney for his costume. He figured that he should probably look nice.

Blaine whispered, "I'll see you tomorrow," and leaned in. Jude's breath caught in his throat, but he ignored his nerves and angled his head toward Blaine, meeting his lips.

It was gentle, but stronger than their last kiss. It felt more intimate, too. It felt really good. It ended all too soon, but he was too nervous to push for more. Instead he said good-bye to Blaine and walked outside.

The cool nighttime air was refreshing after the stuffy basement and it helped clear his head after Blaine had succeeded in removing all abilities of coherent speech. He almost skipped down the dark street.

Very few people were outside anymore. Most houses were totally dark. Jude could hear catcalls of a group about a block away and he could see some people sitting on a porch and smoking.

He quickened his pace.

Jude took a shortcut through the alley behind a few houses when he sensed another presence. Several other presences. They followed him.

Jude was almost running when he reached the next streetlamp, but it was too late. The group behind him had caught up.

"Hey look," a voice jeered. "It's a lonely little fag."

"What are you doing out here all alone, twink?"

"I'm surprised you didn't let your natural skin _sparkle_ tonight, fairy."

Jude was surrounded. "I – I don't want any trouble," he stuttered.

"Maybe you should have thought of that before poisoning our school with your faggy stench, huh?" one of the boys said, shoving Jude against a retaining wall.

As he leaned closer to Jude, he could smell the stench of alcohol on the boy's breath.

"P-please," he whimpered, fear seeping into every pore as the boys closed in.

"I think it's time we teach him a lesson. Show him that it's not okay to flaunt his gayness all around. And it's definitely not okay to think he can get away with embarrassing us like he did with those pictures."

Jude gulped, his suspicions confirmed. These were angry, drunk football players who were looking for any excuse to beat him up. Making a split second decision, Jude tried to run. He pushed two boys out of the way and made it a few feet before one of them grabbed him, causing him to fall to the concrete.

Jude winced as he fell, holding out his hands to break the fall. His right wrist stung sharply, and both his palms were scraped up. But the jocks were only getting started.

One of them forcibly pulled him back up so he was leaning against the wall again. They began pummeling him, hitting any area of Jude's body that they could reach. When Jude felt he could no longer support himself, he fell to the ground, head colliding with the concrete sharply.

His vision was spotty and swimming as the boys closed in on him again.

This time, they kicked him. He could feel it all over – his ribcage, his abdomen, and even his head. With one swift kick to the head, Jude lost consciousness.

The boys above him didn't notice or didn't care. They kept kicking. Minutes later, one of them seemed to realize that something was up.

"Hold on, guys, he's not moving."

Jude was lying in a mangled heap on the ground. His suit was ripped, bruises were forming all over his body, blood seeped out of his nose and several cuts on his stomach and arms. The jock leaned over Jude's still form and tried to measure his pules. "Shit – man, he's barely breathing! What do we do?"

The boys began freaking out. Their shouts caused a few lights in nearby windows to go on.

"We've got to get out of here! Someone'll see us!"

One of the jocks – in an uncharacteristic show of foresight – pried Jude's wallet and phone from his pockets. He stomped on the phone and took the cash from the wallet. Then they all sprinted off.

A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman stepped into the alley, expecting to see that her cat had found its way into the garbage again. She screamed when she saw the bloody body under the street lamp.

Lights turned on in many more houses and grumbling neighbors made their way to the alley. Many took one look at the body and assumed it was a crude halloween prank, until one man dared to approach.

"He's alive – barely!" he called to the small crowd of neighbors. "Someone call an ambulance!"

* * *

><p>Ryan Adams always hated when his duty night fell on halloween. The station was always swamped with calls – either pranks gone wrong or kids being idiots. So when the tones went off yet again, he sighed as he geared up and loaded into the back of the ambulance.<p>

His tune changed drastically when he arrived at the scene. This was much, much worse than a stupid prank. This was a kid who had been beaten to within an inch of his life. As he and his fellow EMTs assessed the body, the police arrived and began taking photos and interviewing the neighbors.

Ryan read over all the info they had been able to collect about the boy up to this point. It wasn't much. His name was Jude Whittaker. He was 14 years old and a freshman in high school. Just a kid.

The police took care of calling the kid's parents while Ryan and his coworkers rushed the kid into the back of the ambulance and sped to the nearest hospital. Doctors were waiting for them when they arrived.

Ryan went into a small room kept stocked with water bottles for EMTs, and began to write his report. By the time he left the room in order to return to the station, a frantic middle-aged couple was bustling in. They had to be the kid's parents.

His heart leaped in his chest as he looked at their tear streaked faces. Ryan might not have his medical degree yet, but he knew what someone was in bad shape. And this kid had been struggling to make it the entire way to the hospital. He only hoped that he would pull through.

* * *

><p>Molly and Greg Whittaker had always hoped that they would never have to receive one of those chilling phone calls from the police informing them that their son had gotten into some sort of trouble. They had raised him to be careful and responsible. He knew the dangers of alcohol and drugs.<p>

Yet, tonight they had received the worst call a parent could ever get. A police officer told them that Jude had been attacked earlier in the evening, it looked like a mugging, and he was on his way to St. Brigid's Hospital in critical condition.

_Critical condition_.

They immediately jumped to action, ransacking the house as they looked for insurance cards and any other relevant information before jumping in their car and speeding to the hospital.

Now they were here, and no one was telling them anything. He was in surgery. No one knew how long it would take. Molly was totally distressed. Greg barely managed to keep himself from breaking down.

* * *

><p>Police officers came by a bit later and asked a few questions about what Jude had been doing that night.<p>

"He was at a halloween party with some friends."

"Do you know where?"

"I think he said the girl's name was Becca something? She doesn't go to his school, they met through a mutual friend."

"Who else was he with?"

"B-blaine and Shane Anderson, Micah – Micah Randall, and Erin Delaney. He was at Micah's house before the party, but we – we told him to come home instead of going back with his friends!" Molly buried her head in her husband's shoulder as her sobs began anew.

"Do you know if there was anyone who might want to hurt him? We have to ask," the officer said apologetically.

"I – I don't think so. He had some trouble finding friends at school," Greg answered in a measured tone. "Some of the football kids gave him some grief a few weeks back when he got a picture of an embarrassing play."

"Okay. Thank you for your time," the officer said kindly before walking back over to his partner. They left soon after.

Hours passed and the ER emptied out, but Molly and Greg Whittaker stayed in their seats, awake, until a tired doctor told them their son was in the ICU.

* * *

><p><strong>next chapter should be up within a week. I've got it almost all written.<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

Micah's parents were awake by 8 Sunday morning when there was a knock at the door. They opened it to find two police officers standing on their stoop.

"Mr. and Mrs. Randall?" one of them asked.

George and Jen Randall merely nodded their heads and stepped to the side to let the officers in.

"I'm Officer Eagan and this is my partner, Officer Quinn," the man said, introducing himself and the uniformed woman standing next to him. "Is your son, Micah, at home?"

"M-micah?" Jen stuttered. "Why do you need to talk to Micah?"

"There was an incident last night that we need to interview him about. You are more than welcome to be present."

"Of course," George said, taking over for his wife. "He and his friends are downstairs. I'll just – I'll wake him up."

"Wait," Officer Quinn said, "would his friends happen to be Blaine or Shane Anderson, Erin Delaney or Becca?"

"Yes – well, just Blaine and Shane," George said, color draining from his face. "What's going on?"

"We actually need to interview them as well. Perhaps you should wake them up and have them call their parents."

* * *

><p>George walked down to the basement to find his son curled up, asleep, next to his two best friends. Nervously, he shook first Micah's, then Blaine and Shane's, shoulders.<p>

"Boys," he said gruffly. "There's a – a man and a woman – here who want to talk to you."

The three boys yawned in sleepy confusion, but managed to get up and stumble upstairs. They were shocked awake by the sight of two police officers in the living room.

The woman walked up to Blaine and Shane. "Blaine and Shane Anderson, I presume?" she asked.

They nodded numbly.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," she said. "We do, however, need to interview you about something, and it would be best if your parents were around. Can you call them and tell them that we'll be coming by soon?"

Blaine took charge, answering in the affirmative.

"Great," she said. "It would probably be best if you boys aren't here when Eagan talks to Micah. Why don't you come outside with me?"

They quickly grabbed their things and followed her outside. Blaine called their father.

"What?" Bart Anderson barked.

"Dad?" Blaine asked timidly. "Um, there's a police officer here, and she -"

"What did you kids do?"

"We didn't do anything, dad," Blaine quickly defended. "She said that she just wants to interview us, but you need to be there."

"Can I talk to this woman?" Bart demanded.

Blaine meekly handed over the phone.

Officer Quinn walked away so the boys couldn't overhear as she explained the situation to Bart Anderson. To her complete and utter shock, he gave her permission to interview the boys at Micah's house, without his supervision.

She hung up and walked back over to the boys. "Change of plans," officer Quinn announced, "we'll be conducting your interviews here, too." She didn't fail to miss the eye roll shared between the brothers. "I'll go in and see if there's somewhere private we can talk."

* * *

><p>Blaine ended up volunteering to be interviewed first, so he found himself sitting in the Randall's study with officer Quinn moments later.<p>

"Were you with Jude Whittaker last night?" was the first question she asked.

Blaine's eyes bugged out of his head. "This is about Jude?"

"Please answer the question, Blaine."

"Yeah. Shane and I met up with him and Micah here before heading over to Becca's for the party."

"What time was that?"

"I don't know, probably around 6:30 or 7."

"Did you leave the party with him?"

"No. He said his parents wanted him home, so he left around 11. I walked him to the door, but he – he walked back – did something happen to Jude?"

Officer Quinn sighed and decided to fill Blaine in. "Last night, around 11:15 pm, Jude was attacked in an alleyway just south of West Acres."

Blaine looked like he was ready to cry. "Attacked? Who?"

"We don't know. At this point, it looks like it could have been a mugging. His wallet was emptied when we arrived on the scene."

"Jude got bullied a lot. We all did," Blaine blurted before he could stop himself.

"Why?"

"Um … If I tell you, can you not tell my father?"

Quinn was confused, but she agreed.

"Jude's gay. Me too. And the kids at school aren't exactly accepting. They haven't held back when threatening us, ever. And if they saw him and they had been drinking, I wouldn't put it past them to get really violent."

"This is a very serious accusation you're making, Blaine."

"I'm not accusing anyone. I'm just saying that you might want to think about that."

* * *

><p>When the three boys had all been interviewed and the officers left, Jen and George made steaming mugs of hot chocolate. They hovered for a while to make sure everyone was alright, but eventually pulled back to let them deal with it themselves.<p>

Blaine was distraught and blamed himself entirely.

"He told me he was walking home. I knew it was a bad idea. I could have made him call his parents, or I could have walked with him, or something!"

"Blaine, it's not your fault," Micah said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Even if you were there, you couldn't have stopped this. Instead, Shane and I would be sitting here worrying about _two _of our friends."

"I need to see him. I need to see if he's okay," Blaine said quietly. His voice was slightly muffled from his attempts to withhold tears.

"I'm sure my parents will drive us to the hospital," Micah said.

* * *

><p>Erin texted Blaine while they were in the car.<p>

_Did you hear? - E_

_yeah. Shane, micah, and I are going to hospital now. - B_

_i'll meet you there soon. - E_

Neither he nor Shane had called their parents to inform them of this yet, and neither cared to.

When they arrived at the hospital, a nurse informed them that only immediate family was allowed in. Blaine began protesting loudly when a woman stepped up next to him.

"Are you Blaine?" she asked quietly.

Blaine could recognize here eyes anywhere, even if they were red and puffy at this moment. She had to be Jude's mother. He nodded.

"I recognized you from the pictures," she said. Looking to Shane and Micah, she added, "You must be Shane and Micah, correct? You can come back with me."

Blaine sighed in relief, but tensed up again when he realized they were heading towards the ICU.

"He's – uh – he's in a coma," Mrs. Randall began to say in a broken voice. "The doctors don't seem to think that his chances are good – 30%, I think was the number that they gave us. He had a lot of damage to his head and internal organs, and a few went into failure, so -" she cut herself off. "I'm just so glad that you boys are here for him."

She let the three into the room and gave them their privacy.

Blaine was scared to look at Jude. He didn't want to replace the last picture he had – moments after their kiss – with whatever Jude looked like now. But he knew he had to.

Jude didn't look like Jude. His face was blank, there were tubes sticking out everywhere, and he was covered in either bandages or bruises. The sight almost brought Blaine to tears. Instead, he sunk into the chair next to the bed and held Jude's hand.

"Do you want a minute?" Shane asked from where he and Micah were still standing in the doorway.

Blaine nodded, but barely paid them any mind. All he could focus on was the broken boy in front of him. The boy that he had fallen for, who had made him so happy last night. And now, he might never get that chance again.

Almost unconsciously, Blaine found the words slipping from his mouth.

"_Hey Jude, don't be afraid..._"

* * *

><p>Erin arrived half an hour after the boys, looking just as exhausted and worried as them. Without even knocking or asking permission, she went into the room and held Blaine as his body shook with sobs. Never once did he let go of Jude's hand, though.<p>

When Jude's parents returned, the kids let them have the room. Instead, they sat on the uncomfortable chairs in silence for hours.

* * *

><p>Some time in the late afternoon, Blaine heard a frantic beeping and loud shouts from the inside of the room. Moments later, a few doctors came rushing down the halls and into Jude's room.<p>

Blaine didn't even think about what he was doing – he just followed them in. The sight he was met with nearly broke him.

Doctors surrounded Jude. They were attempting to resuscitate Jude, but his body was rebelling.

Not ten minutes later, the heart monitor displayed an unchanging line and emitted a low, constant beep.

Blaine collapsed in tears in Erin and Shane's arms when the doctor softly called the time.

"3:18 pm."

* * *

><p>He didn't remember leaving the hospital or arriving at home. He doesn't remember how he got to his room, changed into his pajamas, and got into bed. He doesn't remember Erin holding him until he finally fell asleep.<p>

All he knows is that Jude is gone.

* * *

><p>Shane, Micah, Erin, and Becca sat in silent council in Shane's room once Blaine finally fell asleep. None of them were as deeply affected as Blaine, but they were all in shock, mourning the sudden and unfair loss.<p>

Erin and Becca left first, around 7 pm. Once they were gone, Shane and Micah embraced tightly. Even though Bart Anderson was in the same house, they couldn't hold back. They needed each other.

Shane kissed Micah deeply, not caring about where he was. When they pulled apart, they spent a few minutes just staring.

"I love you, Shane," Micah whispered. "So, so much. And I hate that we have to hide that for fear of something awful happening. But you need to know that I will always love you."

Shane pulled Micah in for another kiss. He whispered, "I love you, too, Micah."

* * *

><p>Hours later, Blaine woke up and had to think for a moment to remember why he felt so cold and empty. With an awful crushing sensation, the events of the previous day all came flooding back to him. Instead of breaking down again, though, he got up and went to his brother's bedroom.<p>

Shane wasn't asleep either. The two brothers held each other tightly.

"Mom said we don't have to go to school tomorrow," Shane whispered.

Blaine nodded. He wouldn't have gone, even if his parents had tried to force them.

"I just keep expecting to wake up and realize that it's Saturday morning and none of this ever happened," Blaine whispered.

"Me too."

* * *

><p>Jude's parents asked to talk to Blaine the next day. They were making funeral arrangements – barely holding it together – and asked if Blaine would sing.<p>

"Jude had a very strong connection to you," Molly said.

Blaine made a split-second decision, then decided to tell the truth. "He's gay. Me too. I think that if there had been more time, we would have – I mean, I really liked him a lot."

Molly nodded with a faint smile on her face. "I always suspected. I just wish he had told me."

"I'd be honored to sing," he said quietly.

* * *

><p>Blaine, Shane, Micah, and Erin returned to school on Tuesday. For the first time in his high school experience, Blaine was not subjected to any sort of torment. No names were shouted in the halls, no one tripped him or pushed him. Most people gave him a wide berth in the halls. He hated that it had to happen like this.<p>

* * *

><p>Saturday morning, the day of the funeral, Blaine woke early after a fitful and shallow sleep. In his confusion, he hoped that the events of the past week were just a dream – a nightmare – the he had just woken up from. One look at his phone, though, and the messages from Erin, Micah, and Becca, revealed that it was all, impossibly, happening.<p>

How long ago was that one kiss in the equipment closet? And then the one at Becca's house? They had barely discussed anything, and now they would never get a chance to. Because Jude was gone.

Permanently.

Irreversibly.

Forever.

With all his heart, Blaine prayed that whatever god was watching would send Jude to heaven, to a better place.

"Someday I'll see you again," Blaine whispered to his empty room.

* * *

><p>Shane woke up in the room next door and felt an uncomfortable lump near his stomach. His phone. He must have fallen asleep last night while talking to Micah.<p>

He looked across his room. His suit was hanging over the closet door. The last time he'd worn it had been for a funeral, too. But that felt better. Sure, he hadn't expected his grandfather to die, but James was old. Jude was young. He had barely lived. And someone had taken that away from him without a second thought.

* * *

><p>Becca slept at Erin's house.<p>

Although the two girls had started the night in Erin's separate twin bed, as mandated by Erin's parents, morning found them tangled in each other in one bed.

The night before had been brutal. The two girls had spent it in complete silence – not even crying. But around one in the morning, the reality of the situation came crashing down upon Erin. She choked back a large sob, hiccoughing, as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Wordlessly, Becca rose from her bed, padded across the room, and slid into the bed alongside her girlfriend. Neither girl had said anything as Becca wrapped her arms around Erin. In silence, they fell into an uneasy sleep, each girl drawing comfort from the other.

* * *

><p>Micah never went to sleep. He didn't let himself.<p>

He was afraid to fall into that darkness ever again. He was afraid that his once comforting dreams would now be rife with Jude's unheard screams and cries for help.

Instead, Micah sat in his desk chair, already wearing his dark suit, and read his newest novel without comprehending a single word. A can of coke sat on the desk while others were piled in the trash bin next to the door. The caffeine and sugar were all that powered Micah at this point.

_This is all my fault_, he thought. _If I hadn't talked to him at that first newspaper meeting, he would never have hung out with the fags and he'd still be alive today._

* * *

><p>The bright red numbers said 5:48. Still over three hours until the funeral. Mindlessly, numbly, Blaine slipped out of bed, changed into sweatpants, snuck downstairs, and went to the garage to mount his bike. He didn't have a destination in mind, he just needed the cool wind whipping against his face and clearing all thoughts from his brain.<p>

There was a moment when Blaine found himself standing near the edge of a bridge with no one around. Images of Jude's broken body flashed through his mind. He heard the taunts of his peers. He heard his father complain in disgust about "those damn fags."

His hand reached for the railing. The metal felt cool beneath his fingers as he gripped it tightly. He squeezed his eyes shut, allowing the black to envelop him. It would all be so easy.

And then in a burst of light, Shane's face appeared. Behind him stood Micah, Erin, and Becca. Blaine started and shook his head, as if waking from a trance. Without looking back, he got on his bike and pedaled home as fast as his legs would allow.

He took the long way home which, not coincidentally, took him past the Whittaker's house.

Blaine pedaled harder, in rhythm with the song running through his head.

_Na, na, na, na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na, Hey Jude._

* * *

><p>There was only a small crowd of people at the church, and it hurt Blaine to realize that so few people were effected by this. He hugged Mrs. Whittaker tightly, and she directed him to the podium where he would be singing. He took a deep breath and began.<p>

_There are places I remembered  
>All my life, though some have changed<br>Some forever not for better  
>Some have gone and some remain<br>All these places have their moments_

Blaine thought back to the first time he met Jude, when he tentatively asked to sit with them at lunch. He remembered that moment when they were stuck together in the equipment closet. He remembered the last time he saw Jude, dressed as Paul McCartney, in Becca's front room.

_With lovers and friends I still can recall  
>Some are dead and some are living<em>

Blaine couldn't help but be reminded of the last funeral he attended. It seemed that whenever he got something good, it had to be snatched away from him. First his grandfather, and now Jude.

_In my life I've loved them all_

_But of all these friends and lovers  
>There is no one compares with you<em>

* * *

><p>Mrs. Whittaker did the eulogy. She was shaking when she walked to the pulpit, but she was determined to say the words she had planned out after speaking with Blaine.<p>

It started out like any other eulogy, a mother's lament that she had to bury her son. And then she revealed that Jude was gay.

"It just hurts me so much that Jude thought he had to hid this from us, that he thought there was anything in this world that could make his father and I stop loving him. I hate that these boys and girls – his classmates – made him fear and hate himself so much. I could see it in his eyes these past few months when he would come home from school. He thought he was hiding it from us, but we could always tell. I knew he was gay and I loved him for it. Despite it. I saw the pain in his eyes as he made excuses about bruises that his classmates had inflicted.

"In the past few weeks, the only time he seemed truly happy was when he was talking about his friends. His eyes lit up like they used to whenever he mentioned Shane, Micah, Erin, and especially Blaine. I want to thank them for making my son's last few months – which were so miserable in so many ways – bearable."

* * *

><p>No one spoke much during the reception. Blaine, Erin, Becca, Micah, and Shane sat together at a table with untouched plates of food in front of them. About an hour in, a man approached them.<p>

"Hi, my name is Harry Miller. I'm a writer at the local paper," the man introduced himself.

Everyone shifted slightly.

"Some people have been throwing around the idea that this was a hate crime rather than just a normal mugging. Mrs. Whittaker said you four knew Jude best. Do you have anything to say?"

They all exchanged glanced, shocked. "People are actually looking into this?" Blaine asked dumbfounded.

"Not exactly. Since there's no evidence to the contrary and no witnesses, the police are calling this a mugging gone horribly wrong. But I think that there was more to it than that. Which is why I'd love to talk to you guys. If you're interested."

* * *

><p>Two days later, the article ran on the front page of the Gazette. Blaine and Shane made sure that their father didn't see it, but they both poured over it. It didn't change anything, but if it made people aware of the ignorance of the town, then they were pleased that some good could come from it.<p>

_On Halloween night, in an alleyway in a relatively safe neighborhood in the Stanton High School district, a 14-year-old boy was beaten to within an inch of his life. When police and EMTs arrived on the scene, there were no witnesses nor any clues but an emptied wallet._

_He died at the hospital 15 hours later._

_Police have been unable to dig up any more information on the case and are calling it a mugging gone wrong. But at the boy's funeral, his mother and friends raised questions about the motivations behind this seemingly random attack._

_Jude Whittaker, the victim, was gay. Because he chose to express his sexuality publicly, he was tormented daily by his classmates._

"_We all were," Blaine Anderson, 15, says. "We all_ are._ All his friends."_

"_I didn't get it as bad as Jude," Shane Anderson, 14, adds. "But because he was gay and I hung out with him, I was teased. Jocks would shove him in the halls and call him names daily."_

"_We would get abducted in the halls and stuffed into the equipment closet in the gym," Micah Randall, 15, explains. _

"_But Jude got it really bad these past few weeks," Blaine Anderson adds. "He is – was – the photographer for the school paper and he got a picture of a really embarrassing play at a football game a few weeks back. The jocks flipped and went after him with even more ferocity than usual."_

_Was this attack simply a mugging that coincidentally happened to a bullied gay teenager? Or was this a hate crime by his classmates and peers?_

_Even more concerning, how can these boys be treated so horribly at school without anyone taking any notice?_

"_Teachers will pretend not to see it in the halls," Blaine Anderson says._

"_The jocks are like royalty," Randall explains. "No one wants to give them detention or suspend them or think that they can do any wrong. They'd rather believe that the poor gay kid was asking for it."_


	29. Chapter 29

**warnings for violence and language**

**(This is also where things divert the most - I know I've altered a few little things before - from what CP Coulter said in _Dalton_, but this just came naturally, so I didn't bother keeping with her canon)**

* * *

><p>Things started to get rough at school again, almost as if the jocks had just been waiting for Jude to be buried before starting on their abuse again. Blaine felt himself coming apart at the seams with everything that they had been through in the past two weeks, combined with the stress of <em>Into the Woods<em>. Blaine had almost forgotten that the rest of the world continued to move after halloween.

The show was the week before Thanksgiving. Blaine nervously brought it up at dinner one night.

"_Into the Woods _is this weekend. Are you guys going to come?"

Bart Anderson stiffened. Marlene gently smiled. "Of course, honey. Buy us tickets for Saturday night."

"I already told you that I don't approve of you singing, Blaine. Do you want people thinking you're some little gay fairy or something?"

Blaine flinched. "Dad, just because I sing doesn't mean I'm gay. I really like it and I'm really proud of the show. I'm one of the leads!"

Bart ignored him.

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca went to the show Thursday night. Shane and Micah went Friday night. Saturday night, Blaine got a note backstage from his parents.<p>

_Your father and I are so proud of you, Blaine. Break a leg!_

But when he looked out to the audience, there was an empty chair next to his mother.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Bart Anderson sat on the living room couch, attentively watching the Thanksgiving day football game. Shane was on the floor in front of them, looking at his phone in boredom. His mother was in the kitchen, working at the family's dinner.<p>

This was the first time Blaine felt like he and his father had any time to bond in years.

They seemed like the perfect Norman Rockwell family.

* * *

><p>Tuesday was Blaine's first day going directly home from school in weeks now that the play was done. He hadn't realized just how much Micah and Shane had been taking advantage of the empty house until he barreled down the stairs, heading for the kitchen, and froze when he found them making out on the couch.<p>

"Seriously guys? Why can't you do this in Shane's room?" Blaine asked exasperatedly.

"If we did that, then there would be no TV serving as an excuse for why we were alone together," Shane responded cheekily.

"You guys know I'm all for your relationship, but you're my best friend, and you're my little brother. And if you keep doing this everywhere, I may have to change my tune..."

"We're just taking advantage of every opportunity we get," Micah said. No one commented on the subtext that screamed _JUDE!_

"Whatever. Just make sure to bring it back down to G before mom and dad get home."

"We're not idiots, Blaine," Shane said. "Now run along and finish your homework!"

Blaine rolled his eyes and grabbed a bag of chips before running back to his room. He did go back downstairs at 5 to 6 to remind them that Bart would be returning soon. Judging from both boys' states of undress and embarrassment, they really had lost track of time.

* * *

><p>On Wednesday, Blaine avoided the living room as soon as he got home from school until 6 pm. He checked his pocket watch periodically and sighed when he decided it was time to break the boys apart.<p>

* * *

><p>Shane was pressed against Micah, their breaths hot on each other's cheeks. Shane moved his hands up Micah's body, tugging the other boy's shirt upwards with him.<p>

"Shane -" Micah gasped.

Shane pressed his lips against Micah's to silence him.

"Come on, Shane, your parents -"

"-Won't be home for ages."

"Still …"

Shane only kissed Micah deeper in response.

Micah sighed and allowed his shirt to be pulled over his head. There was something about Shane that made him reckless.

He pulled Shane closer, fingers running through the boy's curly hair. Shane began to unbutton his own shirt, and Micah gasped slightly at the boy's perfectly sculpted abs. He ran his fingers over them and felt the other boy shiver.

"Ahem."

Shane and Micah sprung apart, faces reddening deeply. Blaine stood over the two, half amused and half disappointed.

"Really?" he said. "Dad'll be home soon and you're turning it up?"

Shane grinned guiltily up at his brother and shrugged.

"It's 6," Blaine warned.

"Damn," Shane replied. "I guess I'll just – uh – get us some food or something then." He stood up and his shirt flapped open, so he began to fix it.

As Shane walked away, Micah began to feel self-conscious that he was shirtless in front of his best friend/boyfriend's brother.

"Sorry, man," he said to Blaine, trying to fill the awkward silence.

Blaine was obviously feeling a bit awkward too, face reddening as he picked up Micah's shirt for him. "I guess I get it. Just be more careful, okay? I mean, it's bad enough that you guys do this at school, but at home, too? And in the living room?"

Micah grinned awkwardly at his friend, and reached out a hand to grab his shirt.

In that silence, a few small – and dreaded – noises were amplified throughout the large house. A small click came from the front door and it swung open. Shane dropped the bowl he had grabbed from a cabinet and bent down to pick it up, panic written across his face. Blaine and Micah froze – one boy shirtless, the other handing him the shirt, both very red-faced.

As soon as Blaine came to his senses, he hissed, "Shane, stay down!"

"But -" the younger boy began to protest.

"Just shut up and stay there!"

Before Blaine could do anything else, the front door closed and two sets of feet walked through the house. One, the softer pair, went upstairs, while the heavier pair entered the living room.

"Micah. Shirt. NOW!" Blaine muttered, throwing the shirt at Micah and stepping in front of his friend.

Micah hastily began pulling the shirt over himself, but his panic made him shaky. He was half finished when the door opened and Bart Anderson appeared.

The scene was frozen for a moment: father standing in the doorway, son standing protectively in front of the half-dressed boy on the couch, other son hidden behind the kitchen counter and watching in horror.

"Dad..." Blaine finally said.

"What the _hell _is this?" Bart shouted.

"Dad, please, just listen," Blaine begged. His voice shook as he stepped closer to his father. "This isn't what it looks like."

"Oh really?" Bart spat. "Please explain, then. Because right now it looks like my son has turned into a disgusting little fag!"

Micah had finally managed to pull his shirt fully over his body and he moved to stand next to Blaine. Blaine felt the new presence beside him, took a deep breath, and took Micah's hand.

From the kitchen, Shane saw everything. He was cursing himself for being so careless, for putting Blaine in this situation. And Micah, too. It broke Shane's heart that he had to be crouching, terrified, behind the counter, while his brother and boyfriend paid for his stupidity. He wanted to be out there too. He wanted his father to understand.

"Please, dad, please understand," Blaine begged, echoing Shane's thoughts. "I didn't want you to see – for it to be like this."

Bart stared icily down at his oldest son.

"Dad," Blaine began again, as he squeezed Micah's hand in a nonverbal bid for Micah's permission, "I'm gay. You're right. But it's not bad or anything. Because, Micah and I are dating. We're in love dad. Just like any straight couple."

Bart was silently seething.

"Dad?"

More silence. Shane was terrified to move, but even more terrified of what his father might do.

"D-did you hear me, dad? Micah's my boyfriend," Blaine said, timidly taking a step forward.

Bart seemed to finally unfreeze.

"Don't talk about things you don't know about," he spat at Blaine before turning on Micah. "And you! What the fuck is wrong with you? You think you can just come here and mess with my son't brain? What are you trying to do to him, to my whole family!"

Micah cowered, and Blaine spoke again. "Dad! It's not Micah, it's me. I _am_ gay!"

"Shut the fuck _up_, Blaine. Stop talking about things you don't understand."

"No, dad, _you _don't understand. I'm gay. I like other boys. You can't say anything to change that!"

Bart struck so quickly, Blaine didn't even realize anything had happened until he felt a sting on his cheek. Then he turned on Micah again. "What have you been doing to my son? Poisoning his mind, turning him in to a fag like you?"

Blaine winced, both from his father's word and the slap he'd received moments before.

"Mr. Anderson, please," Micah began.

"Don't you dare speak to me, fag. I invite you into my home, and this is how you repay me?"

"Stop it!" Blaine shouted, dropping Micah's hand and stepping forward. "Stop it, dad! It's not Micah's fault. I've always been gay. And I'm pretty sure that you knew, too, but you were just too scared to admit it."

"I will not let you talk to me like that!" Bart boomed, advancing on the two boys. "Get the fuck out of my house, fag, and never come back!"

Micah didn't – or couldn't – move.

"Didn't you hear me? Move!" Bart lashed out and pushed Micah back.

"Don't touch him!" Blaine shouted.

"Stay out of this, Blaine. You're in enough trouble already!" Bart grabbed a section of Micah's shirt and practically dragged the boy to the back door. He forced it open and shoved Micah outside before slamming the door in his face. "Never come near my house or my sons again!"

Micah met Blaine's eyes one final time before he scrambled up and ran away.

Bart now turned his full attention to Blaine. "What the _fuck _is wrong with you? After everything your mother and I do to make sure that you have everything you need, this is how you repay us? By associating with a fucking faggot?"

"Dad, please, just listen to me!" Blaine pleaded. "I'm your son, same as I always have been. But I'm also gay, and you're going to have to accept that!"

"No son of mine is going to prance around like a damn fairy and ruin the family name," Bart said, backing Blaine up against the wall.

"Just forget about the family name for one second and think about me, dad! Don't you even care about _my _happiness?"

"Don't you _dare _talk to me like that, you disrespectful little..."

"Faggot?" Blaine finished for his father.

Burt was practically on top of Blaine now, and the boy had no where to go.

"I'm still me, dad. I'm still your son. I just like boys instead of girls."

"You are no son of mine," Bart said venomously.

Shane saw everything as if it was happening in slow motion. He wanted to jump out and stop his father, but he was frozen in horror and fear. Instead he had to watch as Bart pulled back his hand and struck Blaine across the face again. He saw the door on the far side of the kitchen open and heard Marlene ask, "What's going on dear?" He saw Bart grab Blaine with more force or strength than he knew he possessed. He saw the large, imposing man shoved – no, threw – the other boy across the room.

He watched as Blaine's body flew backwards and collided with the wooden and glass gun case. He heard the crash and saw it break from the contact.

"Bart!" Marlene exclaimed. "What is going on?"

"Stay out of this, Marlene," Bart growled.

Blaine was an achey, bloody, broken mess on the floor. But he wasn't unconscious yet. He shifted slightly and weakly lifted his head. "Dad..." he called in a small voice.

"You've made your choice, Blaine. If you're going be be a fucking homo, then fine. But no son of mine will be a fag. I won't have the whole world knowing this."

"You think no one knows?" Blaine asked with a weak laugh. "Did you ever wonder why I had no friends in high school? Why I came home with new bruises every other day? Everybody knows, dad. I just hoped my own father might accept me – might _love _me – even if no one else did."

"Don't you fucking put this on me," Bart growled, shoving Blaine back down with his foot. "This is your own fault, freak, for choosing to live like this."

Bart looked down at his eldest son, his favorite son, with venom in his eyes, before he turned away to face his wife. "Upstairs. Now," he ordered her.

Marlene tried to step forward, but Bart stopped her.

"Don't you dare try to touch him. We've been too soft on him all these years. That's why he turned out like this."

Marlene hesitated a moment longer before following her husband up the stairs.

From where Blaine was curled in the broken remains of his father's gun cabinet he had the strangest urge to laugh.

* * *

><p>Bart was furiously pacing across his bedroom. None of Marlene's attempts worked to calm him down, and after he almost hit her, too, she chose to sit out of the way. Finally, he pulled out his phone and punched in some numbers. The phone rang a few times before George Randall answered.<p>

"Hello?"

"Randall?" Bart demanded. "This is Bart Anderson. I just wanted to let you know that I caught your sick son groping on and perverting my son. You better keep him away from my kids if you know what's best." Bart hung up before George could speak.

* * *

><p>George was stunned. Apparently, his sister and his wife had overheard the conversation, because their faces were frozen in shock, too. His sister, Marietta, was the first one to speak.<p>

"You can fix this, George," she said soothingly. "There's a place by me. It's a school. Where they show kids that what they're feeling isn't real. That it's wrong. Micah doesn't have to be this way."

George nodded in numb agreement, unsure of what else to do.

* * *

><p>Once Shane was sure that their father was not going to come back downstairs, he rushed over to help Blaine.<p>

"Blaine – I am _so _sorry. I never thought that dad – and he was early – it should have been me," he babbled.

Blaine took a deep, shuddering breath before grasping Shane's hand. He shook his head. "No, it shouldn't have. I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to protect you, even if it is from our father."

"But, Blaine! He – you -" Shane spluttered.

"I'm alive, aren't I? And now he knows. We always knew that this would be the most likely outcome. Just check on Micah, okay? Make sure he's okay."

Shane wanted to stay to help his brother, but he could tell that Blaine was dismissing him. "And you should probably stay away from me at home from now on, too," Blaine added sadly.

Shane wanted to cry.

He called Micah's phone about 20 times and left him close to 50 messages, but never got a response. Suddenly, Shane felt very alone.

* * *

><p>After Shane left the room, Blaine took 15 minutes dragging himself up. It took even longer to climb the stairs. He practically collapsed when he reached his bedroom. He ran a bath and spent time picking tiny glass shards out of his skin. He'd barely even made contact with the water and it was already dyed pink.<p>

What felt like hours later, Blaine hand manged to clean himself off and apply bandages to the worst of the cuts. His head ached every time he moved or made even the slightest noise, but he wouldn't let himself stop.

Finally, he crawled on top of his bed and called Erin.

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca were having a romantic dinner one town over when Blaine called Erin. He'd known about the plans and promised not to bother them, so Erin knew it had to be something important.<p>

"Hello? Blaine?" she answered.

"Erin?" Blaine's weak voice called.

"Blaine? Honey, what happened? Are you okay?"

"He – he found out, Er. And it just hurts. Everything."

"Who, Blaine? _What happened_?"

"Shane and Micah were making out in the living room after school. I told them to knock it off before dad got home, but he was early. So I told him. And I said that Micah was my boyfriend, and he threw Micah out _literally_ and then he started screaming at me and he told me I wasn't his son and then he threw me into the gun case and it just _hurts_, Erin."

"Oh my god. Do you need me to get you, Blaine? I sweat, Bec and I will get up right now and leave. We can be to your house in 45 minutes. 30 if we speed."

"No – no, this was supposed to be your special night," Blaine protested weakly.

"Blaine, you're _obviously_ not okay – emotionally _or _physically. Do you need me there?"

"No," Blaine admitted. "Just talk to me, okay?"

So Erin did. She talked to Blaine soothingly about the drive to the restaurant, what she and Becca were wearing, everything about their food. She said everything that came to mind until Blaine fell asleep on the other end.

"Sorry," Erin apologized, hanging up and looking back at Becca. The call had taken up a good half hour of their time.

"No, it sounded serious. Is everything okay?"

Erin let out a shaky breath and shook her head. Tears were coming to her eyes, but she fought them off. "No. His dad almost walked in on Shane and Micah, so Blaine took the fall and came out to his dad. He got violent. _Really _violent."

"Are you sure you don't want to go over there?"

Erin shook her head again. "No. He's asleep now. And he's got Shane."

* * *

><p>Blaine woke up a few hours later from a stabbing pain in his shoulder. He winced when his fingers grazed over the spot and he discovered a shard of glass that he had managed to miss before.<p>

Pulling it out was perhaps the most painful thing he had experienced. Even worse was examining the glass in the dim light of his bathroom. It was a couple inches long, although most of it had been residing in Blaine's shoulder for the past few hours. The gash where it had been was now bleeding freely.

Blaine poured rubbing alcohol on a washcloth and held it over the cut. It stung sharply and made his eyes water, but he didn't let go. He fumbled around, one handed, until he found a first aid kit. Pulling the washcloth off, Blaine grabbed a few sheets of gauze and medical tape. He quickly taped the makeshift bandage in place before going back to his room.

Blaine thought of Jude as he fell back on to his bed. The younger boy had been in so much more pain than Blaine could ever imagine, even now that he had a small taste of it. Now more than ever did Blaine wish he could turn the clocks back and return to Halloween when everything was normal.

* * *

><p>Blaine left the house as soon as he woke up the next morning, doing everything in his power to avoid his family. He stopped by a coffee shop to buy a muffin on the way to school, but he had no appetite.<p>

He had been sitting in the library for over an hour when Erin came in.

"You look terrible," she said as she sat down next to him.

"Thanks. I feel _great_," he responded sarcastically.

"I'm serious, Blaine. This looks really bad. You're bruised and you've got a ton of cuts everywhere and – _is that blood_?"

Blaine looked to his shoulder and nodded tiredly. His bandage must have shifted during the night and the gash must have started bleeding again.

"Let me help you," she said kindly.

Blaine was too tired to protest, so he let Erin lead him to the locker rooms. Once there, she grabbed a first aid kit and fixed a much better bandage over Blaine's shoulder. Then she forced him to swallow two small painkillers.

When they returned to the library, Shane was sitting at their usual table and looked like he was about to have a panic attack.

"Blaine!" he said, running up and hugging his brother tightly as soon as he saw him.

Blaine melted into the hug, but still had a hardened look in his eyes. "Where's Micah?" he asked when they pulled apart.

Shane's eyes immediately filled with tears. "I thought he might be with you," he whispered. "He never called me back last night."

Blaine pulled Shane into a hug this time, and Erin quickly joined in.

"How're mom and dad?" Blaine asked nervously when they sat back down.

"Dad's livid, I can tell. But he's not saying anything. Like, he never made any comment about the broken cabinet or how you weren't at dinner or breakfast or anything. Mom – she's scared of dad. I can't tell how she feels about – about you, but I know that she can't – won't say anything because of dad."

Blaine sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "How did everything fall to shit so quickly?"

"Blaine, it's going to be okay. I'm sure dad'll lighten up eventually," Shane said.

Blaine looked back at him dubiously. "Have you _met _our father, Shane? He's never going to forget this. Anyway, you heard him. I'm apparently not his son anymore."

"Please, Blaine. Maybe if I tell him -"

"NO!"

"Blaine -"

"No, Shane, coming out to him is only going to make this worse. First off, he'll blame me for poisoning you. Secondly, you shouldn't have to lose dad, too. Please don't, Shane. _Please._"

Shane looked like he wanted to protest, but he was too scared of their father. "Fine."

Erin finally jumped into the conversation. "I know you probably don't want to think about this, but what _are_ you going to do, Blaine? I mean, do you think he'll … kick you out or something?"

Shane shook his head violently. "Mom would never let him. Blaine, you _have _to stay."

"I'll just have to keep avoiding him," Blaine said. He felt like he had just surrendered himself to enemies who wanted to torture him for the rest of his life, but there was no way he would ever leave Shane alone at home.

* * *

><p>Shane, Erin, and Blaine ate a very subdued lunch. They tried talking, but everything seemed too painful. Any mention of parents would make Blaine wince and talk of significant others – specifically Micah – broke Shane.<p>

Blaine kept checking his phone, as he knew Erin and Shane were also doing, but no one heard from Micah.

* * *

><p>As Blaine walked to his final class of the day, a jock shoved him into the lockers.<p>

"Hey, fag, who gave you that black eye? I'd like to give him a medal," he jeered.

Blaine, who had already been on edge, almost blew up. He was about to start shouting at – or maybe hitting – the jock when Erin appeared beside him and grabbed his arm.

"Ignore him," she whispered soothingly.

* * *

><p>Blaine had always thought that there was nothing worse than school, but suddenly that was untrue. Suddenly, his home had turned into a war zone. After school, he and Shane mindlessly watched TV until 5. Blaine made himself dinner and locked himself in his bedroom once their parents arrived.<p>

* * *

><p>Bart seemed to have calmed down slightly at dinner, so Shane decided to try to talk to him. "Dad?" Shane asked.<p>

"Yeah son?"

Shane winced at the word, remembering how he'd thrown it at Blaine the other day.

"Are you – I mean, is – um – what's going to happen with Blaine?"

Bart stilled. "Well, if Blaine decides to stop playing around with other boys and comes to his senses, then he will be more than welcome to be considered a member of this family again. Until then, however, I cannot tolerate his behavior."

"But, you're not going to kick him out, right?"

Marlene's eyes flashed, almost as dangerously as her husband's.

"No," Bart said. "But that doesn't mean I want that little faggot thinking it's okay for him to go around doing … things."

Shane's appetite disappeared after the conversation. He excused himself from the table as soon as possible and went to his room to try calling Micah again. Still no answer.

* * *

><p>Micah never returned to school. Erin, Blaine, and Shane waited a week and a half before realizing that he was probably gone for good.<p>

"You don't think dad did something, do you?" Shane asked nervously.

"I don't know, Shane. I wouldn't necessarily put it past him. He was – well, you saw him."

Shane looked like he was about to cry, so it broke Blaine's heart even more when he spoke again.

"Shane, I think you need to stop hanging out with me and Erin."

"What?" Shane looked positively aghast.

"Come on, Shane. You have to have noticed that you're becoming more of a target now that Micah and J-jude are gone. Soon, they're going to either figure it out, or stop caring that you're supposedly straight. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you, too. So, please, please, _please_, just stop hanging out with us at school."

Erin nodded along. She and Blaine had already discussed this. As much as it hurt them to push Shane away and encourage him to stay closeted, they both knew it was for the best.

So on the second Monday of December, Shane sat with a few boys from his class instead of Blaine and Erin at lunch. He didn't try to prevent the jocks from tripping his brother in the cafeteria, nor did he get up to help Blaine clean off. He didn't even make eye contact.


	30. Chapter 30

**this one's kind of short. We're winding down now. Only one more chapter to go!**

* * *

><p>"Boys! Downstairs! Now!" Bart Anderson called up the staircase when he returned home from work one day in mid-December.<p>

Shane Anderson appeared at the foot of the stairs moments later, and took a seat on the living room couch in front of his parents. When it became obvious that Blaine wasn't coming, an angry look crossed Bart's face, and he added, "Both of you!"

Blaine took his time, despite the fact that he was insanely curious. He had barely seen his father and certainly hadn't talked to him since the debacle after Thanksgiving. He stood in the doorway, not willing to enter the same room as Bart Anderson, and folded his arms. He wore a scowl that almost matched his father's.

"As you know, your mother and I were planning on a – family – trip to Aspen over Christmas," Bart said, practically spitting out the word family, but still not acknowledging Blaine.

"I'm not going," Blaine said quietly but strongly from the doorway.

"Excuse me?" Bart Anderson said, looking his son in the eyes for the first time in weeks.

"I don't want to go. Plus, I thought I 'wasn't your son' anymore, so I guess that means I don't have to go."

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, you insolent little -"

"_Bart_," Marlene warned.

Blaine scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Shouldn't you be thrilled that I don't want to go? Whatever. Have fun."

With that, Blaine turned on his heel and walked back to his bedroom.

Bart called the airline and canceled the fourth ticket and then let the ski lodge know that there would only be three checking in.

Blaine's stomach sank a little as he realized that he would be spending Christmas – and the days surrounding it – alone.

Apparently, Shane had thought ahead, because Erin called him and offered to let him spend Christmas day with her family. Blaine gratefully accepted.

* * *

><p>On Christmas morning, Blaine packed his backpack very carefully, making sure that the gifts he had rushed to buy at the last minute for Erin's parents and the pie he bought at the bakery downtown wouldn't get damaged. He then loaded himself and his things on to his bike and headed off towards Erin's house.<p>

His hands were practically frozen in the shape of his handlebar by the time he parked his bike at Erin's and rang the bell. Her parents immediately began fussing over him.

"Oh honey, you should have called us and asked for a ride! It's too cold and icy for you to be biking," Erin's mom said.

Her warm and welcoming demeanor made Blaine at one time happier than he had been in ages, as well as incredibly sad that his mother would never look at him that way again.

"Now, what's this Erin was telling me about you being alone for the holidays?"

Blaine shot Erin an exasperated look, but smiled deftly at her mother. "Oh, they're just going to visit my uncle and his family for the day, but my uncle's a bit of a homophobe, so I decided to stay here. They had to leave quite early this morning, but they should be back by tonight," Blaine lied expertly.

"Oh, that's too bad," Mrs. Delaney said.

Blaine quickly unpacked his bag and handed out his gifts. Mrs. Delaney told him that he shouldn't have, but when he lied and said the pie was from his parents as a thank you for letting him spend the day, she graciously accepted.

"Maybe we should have your parents over for dinner sometime," she mused.

"No!" Blaine said. He quickly caught himself and continued. "I mean, they both work a lot. Most nights they're too exhausted to even have dinner with me and my brother."

"Oh."

* * *

><p>After a few hours, he and Erin managed to escape to her bedroom. Blaine flipped through her magazines while she talked with Becca. When Erin finally hung up, Blaine tossed her a small wrapped box.<p>

"Merry Christmas," he said.

Erin opened the box and gasped when she saw the fragile silver chain. Hanging off of it was a tiny pair of running shoes.

"Thank you, Blaine. It's beautiful."

Blaine had gotten all of his friends something similar. There was a necklace with a dove on it for Becca that Blaine had given her the last day he saw her before break.

Jude's tiny camera charm and Micah's book charm both sat in the bottom of Blaine's dresser.

* * *

><p>Erin's father insisted on driving Blaine and his bike home, for which he was grateful. It had gotten colder during the day and was currently snowing lightly. When he came up to the front door of his house, there was a large manilla envelope sitting on the stoop. His name was written on it in neat letters.<p>

Blaine let himself inside and emptied the envelope on his bed. There was a very full green folder and a single sheet of stationery inside. Blaine read the note first.

_Dear Blaine,_

_Greg and I were just going through Jude's film and all the prints he's made over the past few months, and we thought that you would want them. We've made extra copies for ourselves, but I think that Jude would have wanted you to have them, too. Once again, I cannot thank you enough for everything you did for my son during the short time that you knew him._

_Merry Christmas to you and your family._

_Love, Molly and Greg Whittaker._

Blaine opened the folder with shaking hands. Inside were tons of pictures of him, Shane, Micah, Erin, and even a few of Jude and Becca.

At some point while he was looking through the pictures, Blaine began to cry.

* * *

><p>The rest of the Andersons returned home December 29th. Shane went in to Blaine's room when their parents were busy unpacking and looked over the pictures with him.<p>

"Can I – can I have this?" he asked nervously. He was holding up a black and white picture of him and Micah. They were sitting in the Anderson's backyard, holding hands and staring deeply into each other's eyes.

Blaine smiled and nodded. "Of course."

* * *

><p>Bart Anderson spoke directly to Blaine the day after returning from Aspen.<p>

"You and Shane are coming to New Year's party at work with me and your mother. If I hear that you mention your _abnormality _to anyone, you are going to wish you were dead. You will be taking the daughter of my coworker, and you will be the perfect, _straight_ gentleman."

* * *

><p>Chloe, the daughter of Bart's coworker, turned out to be a very pretty girl. She had long blonde hair, fair skin, and was wearing a tight black skirt, red belt, white camisole, and black glittery blazer.<p>

Blaine tried to smile politely at her and act the perfect gentleman.

Shane's date was, of course, Maggie. She arrived soon after Chloe, and the two girls hit it off right away. When the family left for the party, they filled the car with chatter.

* * *

><p>Blaine and Chloe stood to the side of the crowd of dancers. There was an awkward silence that even the loud music couldn't fix. Shane and Maggie had been sucked into the dancing from the moment they arrived, and suddenly Blaine had to entertain a girl. He had no idea what to do.<p>

"Do you want to dance?" he finally suggested rather awkwardly.

"Listen, Blaine, this is all really sweet, but you should know, I have a boyfriend," Chloe admitted.

Blaine's face broke out into a huge smile of relief. "Oh, thank god," he said. "I was so worried that this was something you agreed to. I mean, you're very pretty and everything. But the total opposite of my type."

Blaine's eyes widened as he realized what he had revealed.

Chloe didn't seem to mind, however. "The cute ones are always gay," she lamented. "So, I'm guessing that you dad doesn't approve and that's why he set you up with me?"

"Yeah," Blaine said sadly. "Wait – why are _you _here if you have a boyfriend?"

"Well, my father doesn't approve of Tommy. He said that because Tommy wants to be a musician and has a tattoo, he has no future. So instead he's trying to set me up with someone with a bit more promise."

Blaine laughed, and soon Chloe joined in.

"At least we're both in the same situation here," Blaine pointed out.

"You know what? We _are_ here, so we might as well have some fun!" Chloe said. She grabbed Blaine's wrist and pulled him on to the dance floor. They danced with Shane and Maggie for the rest of the evening.

* * *

><p>Before leaving, Chloe wrote her number on a slip of paper for Blaine. "I know you're gay," she whispered in his ear, "but if you ever need to play straight for daddy, or you just need a friend, you can always call me."<p>

She made sure to kiss him on the lips right in front of Bart, Marlene, and her parents before leaving.

* * *

><p>At 11:50 pm on New Year's Eve, Erin and Becca slipped away from the party they had gone to at the house of one of Becca's classmates and sat outside on a balcony.<p>

"Are you making any resolutions?" Becca asked Erin shyly.

"I don't know. Despite everything that's happened – Halloween and then Mr. Anderson – I don't know if I want to change anything about my life."

Becca looked down at her feet. "I wish I could be as brave and open as you," she confessed.

"Hey," Erin said, tilting her chin up. "You _are _brave. I love you just the way you are."

The two girls kissed, slowly and deeply, enjoying the moment.

When they broke apart, Erin looked down at her watch. "It's almost midnight," she whispered.

Together the two girls counted down the seconds to the New Year. They kissed as the clock struck 12.

"I want to come out to my parents," Becca said suddenly.

"What?"

"My New Year's Resolution. I want to stop hiding you and how amazing you are from them. I love you, Erin."

"Well, if you're going to come out to your parents, then I'm going to introduce you as my girlfriend to mine."

The two girls kissed again. It was slow at first, but it quickly grew stronger and more desperate. When they finally broke apart for air, they were breathing heavily and grinning widely.

* * *

><p>On the Monday after New Year's, only a few days before school was set to resume, Erin and Becca decided to talk to both sets of parents. They approached Becca's first.<p>

Becca gathered them into the sitting room. She and Erin stood in front of them, both trying to look as responsible as possible.

"Mom, dad, there's something that I have to tell you. And I know it might be hard to understand at first, but I want you to know that nothing has to change and I'll still be the same Becca I always have been," Becca said seriously.

"Oh my god, you're pregnant!" her mother gasped. "Rebecca Claire Douglas, you know exactly how your father and I feel about this. And what about the church? How do you think God feels about little girls that -"

"No, mom, it's not that. I'm not pregnant. Not even close," Becca said, cutting her mother off before she became hysterical. But her mother's ramblings weren't promising, if they were any indication of how she would react to the real news. "I'm gay," she said quietly.

Her parents looked up in surprise.

"You're what?" he father asked slowly.

"Gay. Lesbian. I like girls. Well, one girl in particular." She reached out to take Erin's hand with a small smile. "That's the second thing I need to tell you. Me and Erin … we're together. And we love each other. A lot."

When Becca looked back up at her parents, her mother's face was in her hands and her father had a look of disgust across his features.

"Look at what you've done to your mother," he hissed. "I cannot believe you would be so insensitive. And I never thought you were stupid, Rebecca, but clearly this girl has you convinced that you are feeling things that are _not natural_!"

"No, dad, it's not like that! I really do love Erin. More than I could ever love any man."

"If that's how you feel, then you can no longer live under my roof," Mr. Douglas said quietly.

"What?" Becca asked, paling.

Erin stepped forward for her girlfriend. "Mr. Douglas, surely you -"

"Don't you speak to me, girl. You have consorted with the devil and now you have poisoned my daughter. I want both of you out of my house!"

Sobbing, Becca ran upstairs and Erin followed her.

"What do I do, Erin?" she asked. "They hate me. They think I'm the devil."

"Actually, I think _I'm_ the devil. I just tempted you," Erin said, trying to inject a little humor into the situation. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You are going to pack enough of your things to spend a week at my house. I'm sure my parents'll let you stay. When your parents have calmed down, we can come talk to them again."

Becca nodded and kissed Erin lightly. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>"No."<p>

"No?" Erin asked, completely shocked. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"Erin," her mother sighed, "your father and I were willing to let this _lesbian business_ happen as long as you kept it out of the house. Now you're telling me that the girl who we've been letting sleep over for months is actually your girlfriend _and _you want her to move in? Absolutely not."

"You know, I thought you accepted me!" Erin shouted. "I thought that you and dad were smarter than all the people in this backwards-ass town! Obviously I was wrong. You are just as hateful and ignorant as everyone else and I'm not going to stand it any longer!"

She grabbed Becca's wrist and dragged the girl up to her bedroom.

"What are we going to do, Erin?" Becca asked as soon as the door slammed shut behind them.

"We're getting out of here," Erin said as she angrily threw clothes and things into her track bag.

"What?"

"We'll go to San Francisco. I've heard that they don't care if you're gay there."

"But what about our families? What about school?"

"We can get jobs in San Fran. And I don't need any more family than you."

Becca blushed at Erin's bluntness. "What about Blaine?" she whispered.

Erin looked truly regretful at that. "He's strong. He can make it."


	31. Chapter 31

**holy cow. I never thought I'd say this, but this is it. This is the last chapter. There's going to be an epilogue soon, but other than that, Blaine's adventures are over. (Kinda. If you haven't read _Dalton _yet, this would be the perfect time to start).**

**Parts of this chapter were inspired by a bike ride I took today. These exact songs played in this exact order, and I couldn't help but apply them to poor little Blaine.**

**The schools – other than Dalton and Walcott – are all real ones. However, I know very little about any of them, I simply did a google search much like Blaine's. I am in no way endorsing or condemning any of these schools. The parts about no-bullying policies are fictional too. I have no idea if any of the schools have that or not. I'd like to hope so, though.**

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca stood in the center of the San Francisco Greyhound bus depot, both clearly lost and tired. They each held on to a bag strap and the other's hand as if their lives depended on it.<p>

"So … where to?" Becca asked cautiously.

"I don't know," Erin admitted. "This is as far as the plan went."

Her phone began to ring at that moment, displaying Blaine's name and picture. She rejected it without thought.

"Why did you just do that?" Becca asked. "You're all he's got left, other than Shane. And you even said that Shane hasn't been himself since Micah disappeared."

"He probably with our parents or the police or something," Erin explained. "I'll just text him."

_With becca. We're safe. But we're not coming back home. Love you forever. - E_

* * *

><p>When Blaine saw the text, tears sprung to his eyes. He wasn't with parents or the police. But Erin's mother had called him, sobbing, about how Erin and Becca took off during the night. And apparently it was true.<p>

He picked up his phone to call Mrs. Delaney.

"Yes, Blaine, do you know where she is?" Mrs. Delaney answered in a harried voice.

"No," Blaine admitted sadly. "But she said they're safe and they have somewhere to stay. And … that they're not coming back."

"You talked to her?"

"She texted me. And I don't think she's going to tell anyone anything else. I think you just need to give her space. Eventually she'll come back to you. She loves you a lot."

"Well, thank you for trying, Blaine. If you do ever hear from her, tell her that we want to talk."

_ur parents stopped looking. I told them ur safe and u'll call when ready. Keep me updated, okay? - B_

* * *

><p>Erin could almost feel tears at her eyes when Blaine's message arrived a few hours later. In the time since they'd arrived, they had walked down to the docks. They bought a cheap lunch and were sitting in a grassy park, admiring the bridges and the water.<p>

Becca was pouring over a tourist map that they'd also splurged on. After a few more minutes, she quietly exclaimed, "Yes!"

"What?" Erin demanded.

"I know where we're going," Becca said proudly.

"Care to clue me in?"

"No. It's a surprise. Now, come on. We've got a bus to catch."

* * *

><p>Erin and Becca rode the bus up blocks of San Francisco's notoriously steep streets. Erin's eyes bugged when they passed a gas station that was flying a rainbow flag. Next door, a restaurant had rainbow flags flying over every window. Erin looked further down the street and was floored by the sheer number of rainbows that flooded her vision.<p>

"Welcome to the Castro," Becca said, smile evident in her voice.

"What is this?"

"This is San Francisco's gay district, the largest gay neighborhood in the U.S. Harvey Milk lived here and ran his camera shop in the 1970s. It's a piece of history and our new home."

"While I'm more than thrilled that we managed to find the gayest place in the world," Erin said, "what are we supposed to do now?"

"I'm sure that someone has to be hiring," Becca answered, voice tinged with the slightest bit of doubt.

* * *

><p>In the end, neither Becca nor Erin found any jobs. However, when they inquired at the Castro Coffee Company, the young barista seemed to realize exactly why they were here.<p>

"Ken, I'm taking my 15!" he shouted to the back of the store.

He led the two girls out of the tiny, cramped store and to a bench on the sidewalk, despite the cold.

"So, I'm guessing there's a story here," he said gently.

Erin and Becca looked at each other sideways before Erin decided to speak up.

"Her parents kicked her out when she came out to them. I thought my parents were cool, but it turns out that they were only okay with me liking girls as long as I never acted on it. So we split. And now we're here, and we have no idea what to do."

To Erin's complete surprise, the barista smiled at them. "You've come to the right place," he said kindly. "My name's Alex, by the way. I ran here when I was your age, too. And then Mike and Louis at the Hostel saved me. They've been like fathers to me – way better than my shit dad, anyway. If you don't mind waiting for a couple hours at the shop, I can take you to them. They're always open to helping anyone who needs it."

* * *

><p>Two hours later, Alex led Erin and Becca to a neat brick building. It was about three stories tall, and had large windows in the front. It was decorated with rainbow flags and colorful artwork. There was a sign in the window proclaiming it was "The Castro LGBTQ Youth Hostel."<p>

"Mike? Louis?" Alex called as he walked in.

Two men walked out of the back moments later. Both were in their late 40s. One was tall and had jet black hair, while the other was shorter and had surfer blonde hair. Both wore smiles on their faces.

"This is Erin and Becca," Alex said, pushing them forward. "Becca was kicked out and Erin ran with her because their parents wouldn't let them be together."

Immediately Louis, the blonde one, fell into parent mode.

"Oh, you poor little angels," he cooed over them.

"Shut up, Lou, they're not five," Mike chastised lightly. "Anyway, you girls came to the right place. Lou and I have been running this hostel for almost twenty years now. We help kids who need homes. We'll get you jobs in the community, get you enrolled at school, give you beds and food, and we'll help out with any medical costs that arise."

Erin and Becca were speechless.

"Of course, for us to provide you with all that means that you also need to give back a little. Helping out around the place is always encouraged. Some kids pay rent. But the only thing that we require is that you don't do anything illegal."

"Are you serious?" Erin finally managed to say.

"As a heart attack," Mike said. "We have a few free beds right now – you were really lucky you came when you did. We don't want you kids ending up on the streets or starving or sick. We want you to be able to grow up with every opportunity other kids are afforded."

"Thank you," Becca breathed. "Thank you so much."

Louis led the girls to a bedroom. There were four beds in there, two of which were unoccupied. Neither girl could stop babbling their thanks.

As soon as they settled in, Erin pulled out her phone.

_In san fran. Found gay heaven. Living in lgbtq hostel. Miss you & love you. - E_

_wish u were still here, but glad ur safe. Love you. - B_

* * *

><p>A few days later, once Erin and Becca had become settled in to life in San Francisco, Erin decided to talk to Mike and Lou.<p>

"Why are you guys doing this?" she asked.

"Like we told you," Mike said. "You kids deserve to be safe and happy and loved just as much as any others."

"Plus," Lou added, "we have some personal experience with this. Or, at least, I do. My parents kicked me out of my house when I came out to them. I was 15 years old. Two years later, I was living on the streets of LA, running around with a bunch of rowdy kids who would probably turn on my at the drop of a pin. I was stealing just to eat every night, and I was hooked on every drug you could imagine.

"Eventually, I gave that up. Somehow, I ended up in San Francisco, and I met this really cute guy working at a bar in the Castro. He took pity on me – saw how sick and hungry I was – and he gave me some cash for food. When he found me sleeping in the streets a few weeks later, he let me sleep in his garage. The he got me a job. 12 months later, I was totally sober and head over heels in love.

"A few years after that, once we'd save enough money, we bought this place. I wanted as many kids as possible to avoid going through what I had to go through."

* * *

><p>"Hey fag," a jeering voice called at Blaine as he walked down the hallway, "where are all your little friends? You know, maybe you should just kill yourself. It'd save everyone a whole lot of trouble."<p>

Blaine tried to ignore all the insults and taunts, but it was so much harder when he didn't have Erin or Micah or Jude, or even Shane to turn to.

It killed him to push Shane away. Shane had already been through so much. His boyfriend had disappeared, his father had beaten his brother – his brother who had been defending him at the time. Shane's luster was gone.

Thankfully, Shane had not completely listened to Blaine.

Not two days after Erin had run off did he find himself locked in the equipment closet. He was terrified that no one would ever find him, but then Shane had arrived. Blaine hugged him tightly and thanked him, and then sent his brother on his own again.

* * *

><p>Home wasn't much better. Blaine had finally begun to eat with the family again, but only after much pleading from Shane. Bart Anderson would either pretend that Blaine wasn't there or spend the meal degrading him.<p>

Everything was piling up, and Blaine felt like he couldn't take it much more.

* * *

><p>Blaine furiously marched out of the doors of school and toward his bike, ignoring the surprised looks of the students surrounding him. Shane was already standing and waiting at their bikes, and he looked almost scared when Blaine approached.<p>

"Go on home," Blaine said roughly. He softened his voice before continuing. "I've got a lot of … thinking to do."

Shane nodded, knowing that the best thing for Blaine was to be alone right now. Later tonight, when the older boy wanted to talk, Shane would be right there. He didn't know that Blaine wouldn't open up about this particular instance for almost a month.

Blaine jammed his earbuds into his ears and stuffed his jacked unceremoniously into his backpack. He shivered in the early January chill, but knew that he would soon be sweating from the effort of biking and holding in everything. He put his iPod on shuffle and took off.

He had no plan about where he was going or what he wanted to do. He was just trying to forget. He needed to find a distraction.

Jude was dead. There was no way to undo that. Death is permanent and unchanging. Blaine let out an involuntary sob as this thought crossed his mind and a few tears began to trickle down his cheeks.

Micah had disappeared. Blaine's fath – no, _Bart _had thrown Micah out and then probably threatened him. And now he was gone. And he had taken the joyful part of Shane with him too.

Bart hated him. There was no other way to state it. It couldn't be softened or spun into a better light. The man who had raised Blaine, the man who had once loved him, had turned his back when he found out that the boy wasn't the perfect son he had always wanted.

Erin and Becca ran away. They felt abandoned by their families and so they ran. They had abandoned their friends when they ran. _What gave them the right to run? _Blaine thought angrily. _They faced no worse than I did – in fact, they had it easier by far. I stayed. I had courage. _Blaine knew he was being unfair, but he needed a new source for his pent up anger.

By now, tears were streaming freely down Blaine's cheeks and he didn't even try to stop them. He simply pushed his bike into the highest gear, feeling the strain of his muscles as he pumped harder and harder with every inch.

He was just so frustrated. He felt so weak, as if he could do nothing about his situation. He so badly wanted to try to relieve some of the pressure building on him. _You'd think that now that I'm out, I'd be less worried about constantly keeping a part of myself a secret, but for some reason, it just feels like there's more … _"Pressure pushing down on me."

He laughed as the song playing over his speakers seemed to perfectly mirror his emotions. Who'd have thought that David Bowie and Queen would know how Blaine was feeling at that instant?

_Pressing down on you no man ask for  
>Under pressure - that burns a building down<em>  
><em>Splits a family in two<em>  
><em>Puts people on streets<em>

_Um ba ba be  
>Um ba ba be<em>  
><em>De day da<em>  
><em>Ee day da - that's o.k.<em>

_It's the terror of knowing  
>What the world is about<em>  
><em>Watching some good friends<em>  
><em>Screaming 'Let me out'<em>  
><em>Pray tomorrow - gets me higher<em>  
><em>Pressure on people - people on streets<em>

_Day day de mm hm  
>Da da da ba ba<em>  
><em>O.k.<em>

Blaine pushed on, feeling the burn in his legs but ignoring their pleas for him to stop. The pain felt good. It distracted him. Until, once again it was as if his iPod was trying to talk to him. As if there was someone controlling it. Like it knew how close to the edge he was and it was trying to push him somewhere. Somewhere he didn't quite know yet. But he heard Michael Jackson's voice loud and clear:The song tore Blaine up inside. It wasn't quite the same, but still. His family had been split down the middle – by him. It was his fault that nothing was right any more. Erin and Becca, unable to handle all the shit coming from every direction, had gotten out. But he still sat at home, hoping that suddenly everything would right itself. _So childish_.

_I'm starting with the man in  
><em>_the mirror  
>I'm asking him to change<br>his ways  
>And no message could have<br>been any clearer  
>If you wanna make the world<br>a better place  
>take a look at yourself, and<br>then make a change_

By now, Blaine was four miles from home, atop a large hill. He stopped to catch his breath and was surprised to find it come out shaking and unsteady. He hadn't even noticed that he had been crying. It was a good thing that no one was around; Blaine was a complete mess. When he sat down and rested his aching head in his hands, he almost groaned as he heard the opening chords of the next song.

_They will tell you, you can't sleep alone in a strange place  
><em>_Then they'll tell you, you can't sleep with somebody else  
>Ah, but sooner or later you sleep in your own space<br>Either way it's okay to wake up with yourself_

_I don't need you to worry for me cause I'm alright  
>I don't want you to tell me it's time to come home<br>I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life  
>Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone<em>

_I never said you had to offer me a second chance  
><em>_I never said I was a victim of circumstance  
>I still belong, don't get me wrong<br>You can speak your mind  
>But not on my time<em>

_I don't care what you say anymore, this is my life  
><em>_Go ahead with your own life, leave me alone_

Suddenly he knew what his subconscious was trying to tell him. Of all the songs he owned, these three were the ones that his brain had chosen to pay attention to. Under Pressure. Man in the Mirror. My Life. _Take control of your life. Don't listen to what the others have to say about you. _It was all right there.

Blaine rose quickly, only now noticing the pain in his legs from the rigorous ride. He winced slightly, remounted his bike, and sailed home to the words of Whitesnake:

No, I don't know where I'm going  
>But, I sure know where I've been<br>Hanging on the promises  
>In songs of yesterday<br>An' I've made up my mind,  
>I ain't wasting no more time<br>Here I go again

* * *

><p>Once Blaine returned to his house after the bike ride, he tore through the first floor, stopping only long enough to grab a banana from the kitchen counter in hopes that it might relieve some of his cramps. He then practically threw himself at the door to his bedroom, unceremoniously tossed his backpack on the floor, and opened up his laptop. As soon as it was booted up, Blaine opened up google and began a search.<p>

"Private boarding schools U.S."

This search elicited a number of top ten, twenty, fifty, and one hundred lists of the best boarding schools across the country. Blaine shook his head and tried to narrow his search.

"Private boarding schools U.S. no bullying"

He got similar lists, but this time they had more specific categories. Blaine arbitrarily chose one list of twenty-five of the country's best boarding schools. First Blaine deleted all the all-girls schools from the list. Next went any schools in California – or any within 100 miles of his home. He was still left with about 13, so now Blaine began to very carefully look over all of their websites. After two hours of research, Blaine had narrowed his list down to five: two co-ed schools, three all-boys. All had strict no bullying policies. Two of them had strong theatre departments, one had a show choir. They were in all different parts of the country: Colorado, Ohio, New York, Illinois, and Maryland. Some were near big cities, some were pretty rural. All of them displayed pictures of happy kids in stuffy uniforms. _But I can get used to a uniform_, Blaine thought. _This is what I need to do. For me. I need to get away from this school, from this town, and especially from my dad. I need to start over with new people who know nothing about me. I need to be safe from the bullies. I need to be safe from my memories_.

Blaine printed out an application for each school and began filling them out.

By the end of the week, his applications were almost complete. He had written his essays and even gotten a signature from his mother (he'd caught her right before she was heading off to work – the distracted woman would have signed anything without knowing what it was. Blaine told her they were school forms. He just didn't say which school). He'd also remembered to put his cell phone number on the applications – he didn't want anyone to accidentally call the house before he told his parents. The last things he needed were recommendations from teachers and transcripts. The transcripts were easy enough to get. The recommendations were harder.

Blaine was by no means a bad student. But he didn't necessarily appear that way to his teachers. To the ones who somehow didn't know what was going on, he was constantly late, and frequently bruised. He sat in the back of the classroom and spoke to no one – including the teacher. The ones who were aware of Blaine's situation – well, Blaine didn't trust them.

There was, however one small ray of light. The recommendation didn't have to come from a teacher per se. All of the applications called for a recommendation from "an employer, teacher, coach" or other figure. He figured that he could ask his director for the recommendation.

Mr. Heaney, the director, looked sadly at Blaine after listening to his story.

"Well, I'm going to be sad to see you go, kid. You've got a lot of talent. But I know how much trouble you've been having, and if going away and starting over is going to fix that, then you need to do this. I'll write these letters and send them out right away."

"Thanks, Mr. Heaney," Blaine said.

* * *

><p>Blaine made sure to be the one to bring the mail in every day after he sent in the applications. He didn't want his mother, or worse, his father, finding a letter from a boarding school. The first letter came back only two weeks after Blaine submitted his application. It was from the Gow School in New York, one of the all-boys schools. The letter was simple and straightforward, a form letter.<p>

_"Dear Mr. Anderson,_

_Thank you for your interest in the Gow School. Unfortunately, we are not currently taking any mid-semester transfers. If you remain interested, we encourage you to reapply for the 2010-2011 school year. _

_Sincerely,_

_Madison Andrews_

_Head of Admissions, The Gow School"_

In resignation, Blaine crumpled up the letter and threw it in his trash can. He crossed off the name on the list in his desk drawer. The idea that schools might not want a mid-semester transfer student hadn't even occurred to him. What if no one else wanted him, either?

* * *

><p>Over the next month, Blaine got the final four letters. One more, Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, also turned him away because of his mid-semester transfer status. However, Blaine was accepted at the Walcott School in Colorado, Dalton Academy in Ohio, and Georgetown Preparatory School in Maryland. There was a certain allure to Georgetown Prep – being on the entire opposite side of the country from his father was enticing. Dalton was the one with the show choir, so that was also still on Blaine's list. Walcott had a beautiful campus, and was co-ed, so maybe people would be less likely to think he was gay if he went to a school with girls. That was his number one fear about the two all-boys schools – what if people thought he was gay because he was going to an all-boys school? Or, what if they boys found out and beat him up worse than at Stanton? Despite all the no-bullying policies, Blaine was unable to trust that he would be safe if he went to any of those schools and was out. He simply wanted to start over.<p>

Blaine made his pro/con lists to help with the decision. In the pro column for Dalton went the show choir, the uniforms (they reminded him a bit of Harry Potter), and the location. The con column? All-boys and jocks. Walcott got a pro for being co-ed and having a beautiful campus, but it was closer to home than the other two. Georgetown Prep got a pro for being so far away and being near an interesting city, but was very sport focused and was a mostly commuter school (he'd be one of only 20 or so boarders).

By the time Blaine went to bed after making his lists, he thought he'd made up his mind. He slept with the idea of going to that school in mind, and spent the next two days thinking about it. He didn't feel any regrets, but it was hard to feel regrets about a school that he'd never seen before. So at dinner the next night, Blaine spoke up.

That in itself was very odd. Since the incident with Micah and the gun cabinet, Blaine had been mostly silent around his parents, saying only the fewest necessary words.

"Mom," he said. With a pause, Blaine managed, "Dad. I, uh, I want – I want to … I don't want to go to Stanton anymore."

Shane looked up at Blaine in shock. This was the first he was hearing of this too. Marlene looked concerned, but Bart looked annoyed.

"And what do you want?" Bart asked mockingly.

"I want to go to Dalton Academy in Westerville, Ohio."

This statement was met with silence from all sides of the table. Bart hadn't been expecting such a sure and planned response. Shane was a bit upset that his brother had planned so much without consulting him. Marlene was torn between the two.

"I've, uh, I've already applied and gotten in. They said there's a spot open for me in the sophomore class whenever I want to take it. It's a really good school, tons of the seniors go on to Ivy League colleges every year. Plus there are a bunch of really influential alumni with great connections." Blaine said all this rather quickly with a pleading and hopeful look on his face.

Marlene looked impressed, but Bart scoffed. "And what makes you think that I'll pay for you to go off to some school in Ohio?"

Blaine quailed under his father's unforgiving gaze. "I hate it here. _You _hate having me here. I know you hate me, you think I'm a disappointment. You don't think a little … fag is worth your time. So, why not ship me off, get rid of me so you don't have to deal with me?"

"Blaine –" Marlene began, a sob coming up from her throat.

"I'm going to Dalton," Blaine said, standing up. "I don't care what you say. I need to get away from here and I don't think you want me around. This will make all of us happy." Without looking back, Blaine walked up the stairs to his bedroom.

Shane tried to stand up from his place at the dinner table and follow Blaine, but Bart grabbed his arm and pulled him down, perhaps a little too roughly. Marlene looked at her husband, but said nothing. The rest of the meal was finished in silence.

Shane could barely sit still through the fifteen minutes it took until his father let him go back upstairs.

Blaine's room was in complete disarray when Shane stood at the doorway. He had pulled his suitcase out of the hall closet and it was already filled with the clothes that he thought he'd need. His guitar case was sitting next to it on the floor while another smaller, carry-on sized suitcase sat open with Blaine's laptop, some books, DVDs, CDs, and pictures.

"Whoa..." Shane said upon entering the room.

"I _am _going," Blaine said belligerently. "I don't care if he doesn't want me to, I will go. I'm sending in my intent to attend tomorrow."

"You're really leaving," Shane said faintly. "I can't believe it. Everyone's gone. I thought you'd be the one to stick around for me, and now you're leaving me, too."

"Shane," Blaine said firmly, "leaving you alone and unprotected is the last thing I want to do. But I just can't take this anymore. I could maybe handle all the shit that happens at school, but I can't take that _and _dad throwing insults at me every opportunity he gets. I can't take everyone hating me if there's no one to sit with!"

"Then I'll sit with you, Blaine!"

"No, Shane! You don't get it. I need to protect you. To make sure that this never happens to you. So maybe that means you have to stay in the closet. Maybe that means you have to lie. At least you'll be safe. I can't do this if I don't know that you'll be safe, Shane."

Shane was crying by the time Blaine finished speaking. "I'm going to miss you, big brother," he said as he launched himself into Blaine's open arms.

* * *

><p>Blaine had been dropped off at the airport two hours ago. His flight wasn't even boarding for another hour, but he didn't mind. He hadn't felt this free in ages.<p>

All his things from home were packed neatly into three boxes that Bart and Marlene would be sending to Ohio in a few days. He only brought his backpack and duffel bag with him now.

_Im transferring to dalton academy in ohio. I guess this really means its over. - B_

* * *

><p>Erin got the message while she was working at the local library. Immediately, she logged on to the computer and looked up the school. She was thrilled to see that it had a no-bullying policy and a choir that Blaine could join, but she also felt a tightening in her chest. He was right. It was all coming to an end. Jude was dead, Micah had disappeared, she and Becca ran away, and now Blaine was going to Ohio. Only Shane was left at Stanton, and he had other friends.<p>

_Good luck. I love you. - E_

* * *

><p>Blaine looked out the window at the landscape that he was flying over. He could vaguely see the large gash in the earth that was the Grand Canyon, and was reminded of a vacation there years ago.<p>

His father had been so much happier then. This was before he got the promotion and forgot about his family. He had chased Blaine to the guardrails and held him tightly so that he wouldn't fall. Blaine missed that Bart Anderson.

Eventually, he fell asleep and dreamed about happier times. He dreamed that his parents watched him proudly from the audience as he sang a solo. Next to them, he saw Jude, Micah, Shane, Erin, and Becca. Everyone was smiling at him and encouraging him.

Blaine woke with a start when the plane touched down in Columbus, Ohio. He gathered his bags and walked to the taxi line.

He almost fell asleep again as the taxi drove him to Westerville. When they stopped, he paid with his parents' credit card, adding a more than generous tip, and got out to look up at his new school.

It was big. And old. And with the large cast iron gate, it had never looked scarier. Blaine took a deep breath and walked up the driveway and into his new life.


	32. Epilogue

Erin and Becca got off the bus on Bayshore Boulevard near Pier 39 on a Saturday morning in February. They were heading to a book fair that Erin had heard about through her job at the library. It was supposedly one of the best book sales on the west coast, and it would be there for one weekend only.

They walked leisurely, enjoying the sights and drinking in the smell of the water. It was a cool morning, and the fog hadn't lifted from the bay yet.

Even after a year, Erin still marveled at the fact that she could walk hand in hand with her girlfriend in public, and no one would bat an eyelid.

About two months after moving into Lou and Mike's Hostel, Erin and Becca finally gained the courage to call their parents. Each girl informed them of what was going on in their lives, but stood their ground and refused to come home. Surprisingly, it wasn't their parents that they missed most. It was their real family – Blaine, Shane, Micah … and Jude.

Erin and Blaine texted periodically over the months, but Blaine was soon swept away in the hustle and bustle of his odd new school. Even Shane had finally moved on from Stanton. At the end of his freshman year, he'd apparently informed Bart and Marlene Anderson that he no longer wanted to live at home either (citing their mistreatment of Blaine as his reason) and then he'd enrolled at the Walcott School in Colorado. According to one of Blaine's few texts, he'd even considered coming out there.

They approached the book fair. And it really did look like a fair. There were large tents set up with booths that were piled with books. There were vendors selling all sorts of food and drinks. Erin and Becca grinned and dove in.

The walked around for a few hours, drinking in the volumes that were on display. Becca, indulging her childhood pleasures, bought two first edition Nancy Drew books. Erin saw nothing that she was interested in until she found a table that was piled high with vintage novels.

"Wow," she said reverentially, picking up a battered but beautiful copy of Jules Verne's _Journey to the Center of the Earth_, "you know what this makes me think of? Micah."

"You too?" Becca asked. "All day, I've been walking around, just imaging the literary orgasm he'd have if he saw all this."

"I keep seeing books and thinking, 'Ooh! I should buy that for Micah,' and then I remember that we have no idea what's happened to him."

Erin sipped her coffee sadly, looking around at the crowds surrounding her. There was a flash of red, and she froze, grabbing Becca's arm tightly.

"Ouch! What?" Becca said.

"Bec, please tell me that I'm not insane," Erin said in a low voice.

"Aw, Er, you know I'd never lie to you," Becca joked. When Erin didn't laugh, she pressed the issue. "What's up Erin? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I think I have," Erin replied. "Either that, or we were talking about him and now I've convinced myself that he's here …. Come on!"

Without any further information, Erin pulled Becca through the crowds. As suddenly as they started running, they stopped. They were standing in front of a display of fantasy novels. A boy stood there with shaggy brown hair and a bright red beanie. They couldn't see his face, but there was something familiar about his posture.

"Look," Erin said, pointing a shaking finger at the boy. "Do you think that could be...?"

She didn't dare finish the sentence, in case her hopes were about to be crushed.

"Oh my god, Erin, I think he is!" Becca squealed in agreement.

Taking a deep breath, Erin called, "Micah?"

The boy turned around.

His face was blank for a moment as he scanned the crowds, looking for who had called him. As soon as his eyes glanced over Erin and Becca, he froze.

"Oh my god," Erin said. "Oh my god! Micah! It's you!"

All three of them seemed to unfreeze and they launched themselves at each other. They were reduced to a squealing, sobbing mess in very little time.

"I can't believe it's you," Erin said when they finally pulled apart. "When Blaine told me what happened, and then you never came back to school, we were all so worried."

"I never thought I'd see you guys again," Micah said, tears falling steadily down his face.

"What are you doing here?" Becca asked.

"Where did you go? What _happened_?" Erin continued.

Micah and Becca both laughed. Nothing had changed about Erin in the past year.

"You know what, let's go get some coffee and find a quiet place to talk," Becca suggested, ever the level-headed one.

"Good plan," Erin said. She linked her arms with Becca and Micah and marched them a few blocks away to a small cafe.

"So Micah," Erin said as soon as the coffees and pastries were in front of them. "What happened? Tell us _everything_."

Micah sighed. "It's a long story. And not entirely pleasant, although not as bad as Blaine's, I guess. I should probably start from there."

* * *

><p><em>Micah caught Blaine's eye through the glass door of the Anderson's house. He hated leaving his friend in there alone with his father, but there was nothing he could do. His presence would only aggravate the situation. So instead, he got up and ran. <em>

_He tried not to worry about what was happening to Blaine at the Anderson house. Bart Anderson's eyes had looked positively murderous, but surely he wouldn't do anything to harm his own son. Right?_

_It was a long walk to his house. It had been almost an hour when he approached the driveway. To his surprise, his father was waiting at the door._

_"Living room," the man ordered before Micah could even step over the threshold._

_Inside, his mother was crying and his aunt looked slightly nauseated. _

_"I got a very interesting call a few minutes ago," George Randall began. "From your friend Blaine's father. It seems that you and Blaine are … a bit more than friends."_

_Micah's stomach dropped. Bart Anderson had outed him to his parents. But George didn't look angry, not like Mr. Anderson had. He looked sad and confused._

_"Is this true?" he asked._

_Micah couldn't meet his father's eyes when he replied with a timid, "Yes."_

_"Well, then there is only one solution," Marietta said. "He'll come back with me. There are places. Where they fix this kind of nonsense. Schools where they teach kids how wrong this sort of thing is."_

_"Wh-what?" Micah stuttered._

_His father sighed in resignation. "I really think this is the best solution, Micah."_

_"So, you're just shipping me off to North Carolina to some straight camp?" he asked, practically exploding. "This isn't fair, dad, and I know you realize that."_

_But George was under too much pressure from his sister, so he turned away from his son's hurt eyes. "Pack your things, Micah. You and Marietta will leave tomorrow."_

* * *

><p>"They didn't let me take my phone or computer or anything. They're not allowed at the school. It's called St. Mary's Academy for Youth, but it's basically a straight camp in the form of a boarding school. They do all these things, trying to force us to be straight. They read the bible to us constantly. It sucked, but none of the kids there – there were about 15 of us total – took the crap seriously. We just pretended to try to get out."<p>

"Wow." Erin was speechless at the end of Micah's story. She had always hoped that Micah might have gotten out and found something good. But this story just confirmed Blaine's fears that his father had threatened the boy.

"Why are you here?" Becca asked. "I mean, I'm thrilled to see you, but San Fran is kinda far from North Carolina."

"They're kinda idiots at the Academy. They heard about this giant book sale in San Francisco, and were just like, 'We'll offer this as a reward for all the kids who turn straight!' But they didn't think about the fact that we could fake it, or that San Francisco is like the biggest gay city. So here I am."

Erin was staring at him deeply. "What?" Micah asked, self-consciously.

"Nothing, I'm just still getting over the fact that you're _here_."

"It is a lot to take in. Um, have you heard from Blaine? Or … or Shane?"

"A bit, but when we split, we had to cut off all contact, so it's been hard," Erin explained. "Blaine was alone at Stanton for a while – about a month – before he gave up. See, he'd forced Shane to stop hanging with us as soon as you disappeared, because he wanted to protect him. But when Becca and I left, Blaine was alone. I guess it got really awful because he's now at a boarding school in Ohio. It has a no bullying policy and apparently he's really happy there. Shane stayed the year at Stanton, but now he's at boarding school in Colorado. We were all really worried about you, Micah. Shane especially. He kinda – lost something when you left."

"What happened after I left their house?"

Both girls winced. "It's not a pretty story," Becca said.

"Blaine's dad roughed him up a bit before throwing him into the gun cabinet. Blaine had glass and cuts all over his body. The his dad stopped acknowledging his existence. They left him alone for Christmas."

"Shit," Micah swore. "Well, what about you two? How did you end up here? I thought things were good for you, Erin."

Erin's face darkened, so Becca took over the storytelling. "I came out to my parents last January, and they flipped. They've always been very religious and they couldn't look past that. Becca said I could stay with her, but when we told her parents we were dating, well … It turns out that they weren't as okay with her homosexuality as they seemed. So we ran. Here. We arbitrarily chose San Francisco. We ended up in the Castro and there are these two guys – they're amazing, and they've been together _forever_ – who gave us room and help at this LGBTQ youth hostel."

"Wow," Micah said. "It seems like you two got the best deal."

Becca laughed. "Maybe. But it's hard being away from out families. They know we're safe, but we're never going back to them until they accept us, and that's hard."

"Believe me, I know _exactly_ what you mean," Micah said fervently. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to run over the past year, but I just didn't know where to go."

Erin's eyes adopted their old devious glint. "I think I have an idea. Do you still want to get out of the academy?" she asked Micah.

"No, actually, I love having my sexuality smothered," Micah responded sarcastically.

"Good," Erin said. "Grab your stuff. You're coming with us."

"What?"

"It's not an entirely confusing concept is it, Micah? Go back to your hotel, grab your bags, and come stay at the hostel with us. Mike and Lou will help you get a job and enroll in school and stuff."

"Really?"

"Why not?"

* * *

><p>Mike and Louis were looking over bills when Erin and Becca knocked on the door of their office.<p>

"Hello ladies," Louis greeted. "How was the book fair?"

"Better than you could ever imagine," Erin said. "Mike, Lou, we'd like to introduce you to our friend Micah."

Erin and Becca stepped aside to reveal a slightly scared boy holding a suitcase handle.

The three then launched into a long and complicated story about their past and where Micah had been shipped off to. When they finished speaking, they looked at the men expectantly.

"So?" Erin said. "Can he stay here?"

Mike and Lou were frankly a little shocked by the story that they had just spent the better part of an hour listening to, but they agreed. Within minutes, Micah was settled into a room in the hostel.

The three old friends sat on a couch in the rec room and reminisced for hours. When Erin pulled out her phone to look through pictures, Micah became subdued.

"I just feel so bad for leaving both of them," he said. "I mean, I never got to talk to Shane again, and Blaine – it was all my fault that his dad almost killed him!"

"Shut up, Micah. You've got nothing to feel guilty for," Erin said forcefully. "It was a shit situation, sure. But it was bound to explode eventually. It just sucked that it all seemed to happen at once."

Erin and Micah were so caught up in conversation that they didn't even seem to notice Becca slip away and return to the office.

"I have a proposition," she said, announcing her presence to Mike and Lou again.

"Oh?" Mike said, intrigued.

"Erin and I both have a bit of money saved up from the past year. What if we bought tickets to go to Ohio to visit one of our other friends? He probably had the worst time back at Stanton _and_ at his home, and none of us have seen him in over a year. We all need to right this situation and make sure that everyone is okay."

Mike and Lou both raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances.

"I've actually been thinking about this for a while, but now that Micah's back, it just seems like it's the right time. Erin and I – and Micah, too – could do our classes online. I don't know how long we'd be gone – maybe a month or so? But we really need this."

"We'll have to arrange this with the school," Mike said slowly, "but if it's okay with them, I think you guys should do it."

"Oh, thank you!" Becca squealed, hugging each of them tightly. "You won't regret this!"

She ran to the lounge and booted up one of the hostel's computers and began working on the plans.

She found relatively cheap train tickets for a week from then that would get them to Ohio just before Valentine's Day. She also checked out Blaine's school to make sure that he didn't have a break then. Everything seemed to fall into place when she saw a Valentine's Day fair advertised on the website. A fair that advertised a special appearance by the Dalton Academy Warblers, the singing group that Blaine had joined. She printed off all the information and hid it under her mattress until Lou and Mike got back to her about school.

* * *

><p>Mike and Lou were able to arrange everything with the San Francisco school district, so Becca purchased three tickets and marched into the kitchen where Erin and Micah were presently eating nutella and pretzels.<p>

"Pack your bags," Becca said.

"What?" Erin asked.

"Why?" Micah added. He looked worried that Mike and Lou might be kicking them out.

"We're leaving tomorrow," Becca informed them.

"Leaving? Where?" Erin demanded.

Becca dropped the train tickets and the information she had prepared on the table. Erin and Micah looked over it for a few minutes, stunned expressions appearing on their faces.

"Is this what I think it is?" Erin asked quietly.

"Yep," Becca replied proudly. "I have it all worked out with Mike and Lou. We're going to Ohio for a month. Maybe longer. We'll take all our school courses online while we're gone. We're going to find Blaine at his school's fair and we're finally going to make up for lost time. Reconnect."

"Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?" Erin said, kissing Becca fiercely.

"You _are _amazing, Bec," Micah added.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Lou dropped the three teenagers off at the train station. They boarded their train, ready to face everything that would come in the next few weeks. They were finally going to make things right. They were finally going to get what they deserved.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Fun fact: I was looking through my notebook for one of my classes when I discovered a few scenes from <em>Stanton <em>that I completely forgot I wrote (way back in September or something like that). I just added them to Chapter 27, so if you want you can go back to read them. It's nothing that alters the plot in any way, just a bit more Blaine/Jude development. (It was added/updated on March 3, 2013)**

**Anyway, back to the _real _a/n:**

**Wow. I still can't believe how far this story has come. Almost two years ago, I started writing a little story about Blaine's old friends (the Fabulous Five, as he called them) from CP Coulter's ****_Dalton._**** 32 chapters later, it has spawned a life of its own. It was definitely tough. There were long periods of time when I really didn't want to write it, but finishing it is definitely an incredible feeling. This was one of the biggest projects I have ever attempted.**

**I want to thank everyone who read, reviewed, favorited, and followed ****_Stanton _****from the bottom of my heart. You truly inspired me to finish this. Whether you've been reading from day one, or you just discovered ****_Stanton_****, thank you. You have brightened my life. :)**

**xoxo, my own patronus**


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